Dive Brief:
- Unilever’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleston Bracey will depart at the end of January as the owner of brands like Dove and Hellmann’s moves its marketing and business groups closer together, according to a press release.
- Leandro Barreto, current CMO of Unilever beauty and wellbeing, will see his remit expanded to be enterprise-wide beginning in the new year. Barreto, a Unilever veteran of 20-plus years, is tasked with accelerating efforts to create “desire at scale” for brands.
- Bracey spent two years in the chief growth and marketing officer post and eight overall at Unilever, a period that saw the storied CPG marketer undergo significant change, including a restructuring, CEO transition and spin-off of its ice cream business.
Dive Insight:
Bracey’s time at the Unilever marketing helm included a number of disruptive changes both internal and external to the company. The executive has had to grapple with the rise of generative artificial intelligence, a technology Unilever is integrating more deeply into its strategy, as well as a volatile stretch of years marked by inflation, global strife and an overall uncertain consumer picture.
Pressures on growth also led Unilever to enact a wide-ranging restructuring that continues to take shape. Unilever appointed Fernando Fernandez as CEO in March, succeeding Hein Schumacher, and the executive has moved quickly to evolve the company’s approach to marketing and media.
Announcing the CMO shakeup, Unilever acknowledged that “remarkable industry change” and an “era of digital revolution” have altered the way it engages consumers. Aligning its business groups and marketing agenda more closely together aims to drive greater impact in light of those shifts.
“I would like to thank Esi for her significant contribution to Unilever and wish her every success in the next chapter of her career,” said Fernandez in a press statement. “With strong groundwork now in place, I know Leandro will make a big impact in his expanded role as we accelerate desire at scale and turn Unilever into a true marketing and sales machine.”
Fernandez earlier this year stated Unilever would shift half of its total ad spend to social media while increasing its work with influencers 20-fold, tactical adjustments that have already been apparent in campaigns from brands like Dove. Unilever’s push to embrace viral, social-first marketing that appeals to young consumers also inspired its recent $1.5 billion acquisition of the men’s grooming brand Dr. Squatch.
Bracey previously spent over two decades at Procter & Gamble, a top Unilever rival, and a stint at the beauty and cosmetics marketer Coty before jumping to Unilever in 2018 to help run its beauty and personal care division in North America. In 2024, she was promoted to chief growth and marketing officer, a title underpinning the mandate to balance traditional brand-building functions with performance marketing duties.
Bracey has also championed purpose-led marketing initiatives, including Dove’s support of the CROWN Act, a U.S. legislation that prohibits discrimination against people wearing their natural hair. Earlier this week, she was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame Class for 2026.
“Having the privilege of leading Unilever into its next chapter of growth and marketing has been extraordinary. Globally, we modernized Unilever’s marketing model and are restoring our edge as a brand and performance-driven marketer,” said Bracey in a LinkedIn post about her departure. “None of it was marketing for marketing’s sake. It was about connecting creativity to performance, and brands to culture.”
Bracey will stay on through the end of next month to assist with Barreto’s transition. In the press release, Barreto was credited with an aptitude for “disruptive creativity” and building culturally relevant brands.
