John Rishton, the former chief executive of Dutch retailer Ahold, is set to take a seat on Unilever's boards of directors, the consumer goods giant said today (17 December).
Rishton, who was Ahold boss between 2007 and 2011, will be put for election to Unilever's boards in May.
He left Ahold last year to join engineering giant Rolls Royce as CEO. Rishton joined Ahold in 2006 as CFO and Unilever chairman Michael Treschow cited the Englishman's financial experience for his nomination to the company's boards.
"He is distinguished in his field and will further strengthen the financial expertise of the boards, which will add considerably to the business," Treschow said.
Unilever today announced that it is proposing that Mr John Rishton join the Boards as a Non-Executive Director. He will be proposed for election to the Boards at the Annual General Meetings on 15 May 2013.
John Rishton has been chief executive officer of Rolls Royce Holdings plc since 31 March 2011. Prior to that, he had been the chief executive officer of Royal Ahold N.V. since 2007, a company he joined as chief financial officer in 2006. In 2007, Mr Rishton became a Non-Executive Director of Rolls Royce Group and served as chairman of the audit committee and a member of the ethics and nominations committees prior to his executive appointment.
Michael Treschow, Chairman of Unilever, said: "I am very pleased that John has agreed to be proposed to join the Boards. He is distinguished in his field and will further strengthen the financial expertise of the Boards, which will add considerably to the business."