Marmite, Dove and Ben & Jerry’s maker says chief financial officer Fernando Fernandez will take over from March

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The Unilever chief executive, Hein Schumacher, has stepped down after just over a year and a half in the job and will be succeeded by the consumer goods company’s finance chief.

In a surprise announcement, the maker of Knorr, Marmite, Dove and Ben & Jerry’s said Schumacher would relinquish the role on 1 March and leave the company on 31 May.