Longtime Unilever media exec Luis Di Como is leaving amid a broader shake-up of the business

Longtime senior Unilever media executive Luis Di Como is set to leave the consumer goods giant after 33 years at the company, according to an internal memo obtained by B-17.

Di Como is the company’s executive vice president of global media and global head of media for Unilever’s beauty and wellbeing division.

He oversees the company’s global media budget. In 2023, the company spent around 8.5 billion euros ($9.4 billion) on marketing, which included investments in media, ad production, and promotion. According to the latest figures from the Ad Age Datacenter, it was the ninth biggest global ad spender in 2022.

Di Como is responsible partnerships with major media players like Google, Meta, and News Corp., as well as agencies like WPP and Omnicom. The company is currently undertaking a review of its global media planning and buying account.

He has also played a key role in industrywide initiatives in areas like ad transparency and brand safety through his leadership roles at trade bodies like the Mobile Marketing Association and the World Federation of Advertisers.

Di Como will remain at the company until December 31, according to the memo.

Unilever and Di Como didn’t respond to requests for comment from B-17.

Di Como’s departure comes as Unilever undergoes a massive restructuring of its business. In March, Unilever’s new chief executive, Hein Schumacher, announced plans to cut 7,500 jobs and to split off its ice cream business as part of cost-cutting measures designed to save 800 million euros (about $885 million) over the next three years.

Unilever’s underperformance on the stock market attracted the attention of activist investor Nelson Peltz, who, in 2022, joined its board and whose hedge fund Trian began building a stake in the company. Trian last month trimmed that position, though it still holds 32.6 million shares.

People familiar with the matter said Unilever had been looking to strip centralized organizational layers and management and that the media team hadn’t been immune from those changes.

The memo says that Di Como decided to leave the company and that he will oversee the transition and support a newly created integrated brand experience team.

Selina Sykes, head of beauty and wellness digital, media, and commerce, will now take responsibility for the beauty and wellness division’s overall media budget and activities.

Isabel Massey, currently global media director at the alcohol giant Diageo is set to join Unilever in October as its vice president of integrated brand experiences. A spokesperson from Diageo confirmed Massey’s forthcoming departure to Unilever but didn’t provide further comment.