Hein was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2023. As CEO of Unilever, Hein is responsible for leading one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse consumer goods businesses, with presence in 190 countries, serving 3.4 billion people every day.
He was CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina, an €11bn business operating in over 40 countries – and with products sold in over 100 – from January 2018 to May 2023. During that time, Hein delivered significant portfolio and organisation change as part of transforming it into a more focused, growth-driven and sustainable business. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Hein was Royal FrieslandCampinas’s Chief Financial Officer for three years.
Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina, Hein worked for H.J. Heinz for over a decade. In 2008 he was appointed Chief Strategy Officer, before moving to Heinz China in 2011 as its President and CEO. In 2013, he was appointed Executive Vice President of Kraft Heinz’s Asia Pacific Zone and led a successful turnaround of the business, which spanned China, Indonesia, India, Japan and Oceania.
Earlier in his career, Hein worked in finance as Corporate Controller, Asia and Central America for Royal Ahold NV. He began his career as a Finance Manager in Unilever, working in Germany and the Netherlands.
Hein served as a Non-Executive Director of Unilever from October 2022 until his appointment as CEO. From January 2021 to October 2022, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of C&A AG.
Hein holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Amsterdam.
He is married, with three children.
