Proactive Investors - 7.56am: Unilever (LON:ULVR) names new CEO
Another FSE 100 company changing management is Unilever PLC which has announced the appointment of Hein Schumacher as its new chief executive officer.
He will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire.
Hein is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a non-executive director of Unilever in October last year.
He will start his role on 1 July 2023, after a one-month handover period.
Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina as CFO in 2014, Hein worked for HJ Heinz for over a decade across the US, Europe and Asia.
Unilever Chairman Nils Andersen said Hein was “a dynamic, values-driven business leader who has a diverse background of experiences and an excellent track record of delivery in the global consumer goods industry.”
7.43am: L&G's chief to step down
Legal & General Group PLC’s CEO, Sir Nigel Wilson, is to step down after over a decade at the helm.
Wilson joined joined Legal & General Group in 2009 as chief financial officer and was appointed chief executive in 2012.
He will remain as CEO until a successor has been found, a process which has now begun with L&G considering internal and external candidates.
The FTSE 100 listed insurer said the process will take around a year.
L&G’s Sir John Kingman said Wilson was a “world-class leader who has worked with great passion and energy.”
“Under his stewardship, the group has consistently delivered profitable, sustainable and inclusive growth. Nigel has been a tireless champion for investment-led growth and responsible investment.”
Sir Nigel Wilson said: “It has been an honour and privilege to serve as chief executive of Legal & General over the past decade.”
7.30am: 888 Holdings (LON:888) suspends 'VIP' operations in the Middle East, CEO exits
888 Holdings PLC has suspended VIP activities in some of its .com markets pending the outcome of an internal compliance investigation.
In a statement today, the betting company, said that following the review, it has come to light that certain best practices have not been followed in regard to Know Your Client and Anti-Money Laundering processes for 888 VIP customers in the Middle East region.
“While further internal investigations are underway, the board has taken the decision to suspend VIP customer accounts in the region, effective immediately” the company said.
The group, which is headquarted in Gibralter and owns and operates brands including 888casino, 888sport, 888poker, William Hill and Mr Green, estimated that the impact is less than 3% of group revenues, should the suspensions remain in place.
“Based on the board's current understanding, the process deficiencies identified are isolated to this region only”, 888 commented.
Lord Mendelsohn, chair, promised strong action in response: "The board and I take the group's compliance responsibilities incredibly seriously.”
“We will be uncompromising in our approach to compliance as we build a strong and sustainable business."
In a separate statement, 888 also announced that Pazner is immediately leaving office as CEO and as a director.
The company said Lord Mendelsohn, is assuming the position of executive chair on an interim basis while the board searches for a permanent CEO.
7.00: Weak start expected in London
FTSE 100 expected to start the week on the back foot as investors look ahead to interest rate calls in the US, UK and Europe later this week alongside a bumper batch of earnings updates.
Spread betting companies are calling the lead index down by around 40 points.
Michael Hewson chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK commented: “The strong start to 2023 appears to have given way to a little bit of caution for markets in Europe as we look to this week’s trifecta of central bank meetings, and what sort of outlook is painted by the Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of England, and more importantly how many more rate hikes can we expect to see after next week.”
“This caution looks set to translate into a lower open for markets in Europe this morning ahead of Q4 German GDP numbers which are expected to show the economy in Germany ground to a halt.”
In the US on Friday the major US indexes all finished off a busy week of earnings in positive territory.
At the close, the Dow had gained 0.1% to close at 33,978, the S&P 500 increased 0.3% at 4,071 and the Nasdaq was up 1% on the day at 11,622 to cap off a great week for the tech-laden index.
Elsewhere, housebuilders will be in focus on reports the government is close to agreeing a multi-billion pound deal with the sector to help resolve the cladding crisis exposed by the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster.
On the corporate front a trading update from Computacenter PLC (LON:CCC) is due.