Kleinebenne will replace Carl Cruz, the current managing
director – whose resignation has been approved by the Board of Directors with
effect from 4 May, 2023. He assumes office as the new managing director
effective 5 May 2023.
“I want to welcome Tim to his new role where his skills as a
resilient entrepreneur can deploy business and market development strategies
with speed and determination will take Unilever Nigeria to the next level,”
said Jaime Aguilera, Unilever’s Africa president.
He is a graduate of Business Economics from the University
of Hamburg in Germany. He is a highly experienced general manager and has 31
years of international experience in the FMCG industry at Unilever.
This includes senior sales and marketing roles as well as
over 10 years as managing director of Unilever businesses, two of which were
publicly listed.
Kleinebenne is currently managing director of Unilever Côte
d’Ivoire and has also served as Managing Director of Unilever Ethiopia, where
he established the business and built it into a leading local consumer goods
manufacturer, and as Managing Director of Unilever Caribbean.
In a statement, Unilever Nigeria, on behalf of the Board of
Directors, management, and staff expressed its sincere gratitude to Cruz for
his outstanding work which delivered a positive business turnaround and a
significant increase in both turnover and profit, thereby setting the
organisation on a path to sustainable growth after steering the company through
the difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organisation also wished Cruz all the very best in his
future endeavours.
“I would like to thank Carl personally for his dedication
and commitment to bringing Unilever’s Compass Strategy to life,” “He has
delivered superb results at Unilever Nigeria by serving the Nigerian consumer
and his work ensuring the company continues to actively contribute to building
a better society in Nigeria in its centenary year,” Aguilera said.