The surprise exit of Hein Schumacher comes less than two years after he took on the top role at the consumer-goods giant.

LONDON — Unilever has named its current chief financial officer Fernando Fernandez as its chief executive officer. Fernandez is replacing Hein Schumacher, who is stepping down on March 1.

Unilever surprised investors on Tuesday by ousting chief executive Hein Schumacher and replacing him with finance chief Fernando Fernandez, who will focus on speeding up the execution of the consumer group's turnaround strategy.

Unilever’s revelation of the sudden departure of Hein Schumacher – before he could celebrate a second summer as CEO – seemed shrouded in mystery. But the devil might just be in the detail – in the case of Unilever,

Schumacher defended his approach and record as CEO and said he regretted leaving Unilever earlier than anticipated.

Hein Schumacher is stepping down from his role as Unilever CEO and as a board director after less than two years on the job. Schumacher will leave the company on May 31. Fernando Fernandez, who currently serves as Unilever's chief financial officer and executive director,