Unilever’s top marketer to depart amid structural shakeup at CPG giant

• Unilever’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleston Bracey will depart at the tip of January because the owner of brands like Dove and Hellmann’s moves its marketing and business groups closer together, according to a press release.
• Leandro Barreto, current CMO of Unilever beauty and wellbeing, will see his remit expanded to be enterprise-wide starting in the brand new yr. Barreto, a Unilever veteran of 20-plus years, is tasked with accelerating efforts to create “desire at scale” for brands.   
• Bracey spent two years within the chief growth and marketing officer post and eight overall at Unilever, a period that saw the storied CPG marketer undergo significant change, including a restructuring, CEO transition and spin-off of its ice cream business. 

Bracey’s time at the Unilever marketing helm included a lot of disruptive changes each internal and external to the corporate. The executive has had to grapple with the rise of generative artificial intelligence, a technology Unilever is integrating more deeply into its strategy, in addition to a volatile stretch of years marked by inflation, global strife and an overall uncertain consumer picture. 

Pressures on growth also led Unilever to enact a wide-ranging restructuring that continues to take shape. Unilever appointed Fernando Fernandez as CEO in March, succeeding Hein Schumacher, and the chief has hurried to evolve the corporate’s approach to marketing and media.  

Announcing the CMO shakeup, Unilever acknowledged that “remarkable industry change” and an “era of digital revolution” have altered the way in which it engages consumers. Aligning its business groups and marketing agenda more closely together goals to drive greater impact in light of those shifts.

“I would love to thank Esi for her significant contribution to Unilever and need her every success in the following chapter of her profession,” said Fernandez in a press statement. “With strong groundwork now in place, I do know Leandro will make a huge impact in his expanded role as we speed up desire at scale and switch Unilever right into a true marketing and sales machine.”

Fernandez earlier this yr stated Unilever would shift half of its total ad spend to social media while increasing its work with influencers 20-fold, tactical adjustments which have already been apparent in campaigns from brands like Dove. Unilever’s push to embrace viral, social-first marketing that appeals to young consumers also inspired its recent $1.5 billion acquisition of the lads’s grooming brand Dr. Squatch.   

Bracey previously spent over 20 years at Procter & Gamble, a top Unilever rival, and a stint at the wonder and cosmetics marketer Coty before jumping to Unilever in 2018 to help run its beauty and private care division in North America. In 2024, she was promoted to chief growth and marketing officer, a title underpinning the mandate to balance traditional brand-building functions with performance marketing duties. 

Bracey has also championed purpose-led marketing initiatives, including Dove’s support of the CROWN Act, a U.S. laws that prohibits discrimination against people wearing their natural hair. Earlier this week, she was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame Class for 2026.  

“Having the privilege of leading Unilever into its next chapter of growth and marketing has been extraordinary. Globally, we modernized Unilever’s marketing model and are restoring our edge as a brand and performance-driven marketer,” said Bracey in a LinkedIn post about her departure. “None of it was marketing for marketing’s sake. It was about connecting creativity to performance, and types to culture.”

Bracey will stay on through the tip of next month to assist with Barreto’s transition. In the press release, Barreto was credited with a flair for “disruptive creativity” and constructing culturally relevant brands.