The CPG Leadership Reset: What It Means for Innovation

A thumbs up/ thumbs down in a business office setting.

Unilever: Schumacher Out After 18 Months

Hein Schumacher’s departure from Unilever in early 2025 raised eyebrows—and share prices dipped soon after. Appointed in July 2023, Schumacher was an external hire from the dairy industry who was brought in to sharpen Unilever’s execution and boost sluggish growth.

Why He Was Let Go

  • Underperformance: Unilever’s revenue growth and market share lagged behind competitors like P&G and Nestlé.
  • Strategic Delays: His plan to spin off the underperforming ice cream division (which includes Ben & Jerry’s) stalled. A cost-cutting initiative fell short of its job reduction target.
  • Cultural Fit Issues: As an outsider, Schumacher reportedly struggled to win internal support or move quickly on bold decisions.
  • Investor Pressure: Activist investor Nelson Peltz had been vocal about the need for faster action, possibly influencing the board’s decision.

What’s Next

Fernando Fernandez, a Unilever veteran, stepped in on March 1, 2025, with a mandate for speed and sharper execution. Expect faster portfolio optimization, a focus on high-growth categories like skincare and wellness, and likely acceleration in digital product innovation and sustainable packaging.

CVS Health: Lynch Ousted Amid Financial Pressure

In a surprising shakeup, CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch was dismissed in November 2024. While Lynch had led the company through a major strategic evolution—including the acquisitions of Signify Health and Oak Street Health—her departure reflects growing board impatience with underwhelming financials and execution risk.

Why She Was Let Go

  • Rising Medical Costs: Health insurance claims exceeded expectations, hitting profitability hard.
  • Integration Challenges: CVS’s shift into value-based care brought growing pains and unclear ROI on recent acquisitions.
  • Activist Agitation & Board Concern: Investors were reportedly concerned about the speed of CVS’s transformation into a healthcare company.

What’s Next

David Joyner took over as CEO, bringing deep operational expertise. Innovation at CVS may now lean away from splashy M&A and toward more focused, executional bets—think AI-driven pharmacy automation, personalized health journeys, and efficiency-led digital health offerings. Expect restructuring, likely more layoffs, and a recommitment to ROI-based innovation.

Estée Lauder: Freda Set to Retire Amid Performance Slump

After 16 years at the helm, Estée Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda announced he would step down at the end of fiscal 2025. While technically a retirement, many in the industry view this as a gentle push prompted by recent missteps.

Why He’s Out

  • China Dependency: Heavy reliance on the Chinese market backfired as recovery stalled post-pandemic.
  • Overexpansion: The company’s prestige beauty portfolio became bloated, with unclear differentiation.
  • Slow Digital Pivot: Estée Lauder was late to fully embrace DTC and digital-first marketing, especially compared to competitors like L’Oréal and Fenty Beauty.

What’s Next

The incoming CEO will face pressure to revamp the innovation pipeline. That means simplifying the brand portfolio, doubling down on AI-driven skincare personalization, and repositioning the company for Gen Z consumers. Expect a tech-forward pivot, more influencer-led marketing, and renewed investment in experiential retail.

Campbell Soup: Clouse Retires but Questions Linger

Mark Clouse, CEO of Campbell Soup Company since 2019, stepped down in early 2025 to become president of the NFL’s Washington Commanders—a move framed as a “retirement,” though some analysts suggest pressure had been building due to underwhelming stock performance.

Why It Matters

  • Campbell had recently acquired Sovos Brands (owner of Rao’s), betting big on premiumization. But integration questions and consumer budget tightening put pressure on margins.
  • Innovation under Clouse had been cautious. Stakeholders now want bolder moves.

What’s Next

New CEO Mick Beekhuizen is expected to focus on product innovation, supply chain optimization, and value-focused offerings. Watch for new format experimentation and growth in functional and health-forward foods.

The Broader Pattern: Why Now?

Across the board, a few themes emerge:

  • Investor and Board Impatience: Investors want innovation, but they want it fast and profitable. The days of five-year strategic roadmaps are over.
  • Execution Over Ideation: Boards are prioritizing operators over visionaries. The new mandate is execute faster, simplify portfolios, and hit financial targets.
  • Underperformance vs. Peers: When companies trail competitors in share price, market share, or innovation velocity, leadership is now swiftly replaced.

What Does This Mean for Innovation?

Far from stifling innovation, these shakeups could accelerate it—but only if paired with the right leadership mindset.

  • Innovation will be faster, leaner, and ROI-driven.
  • Expect less moonshot R&D, more agile experimentation.
  • Personalization, AI, and sustainability will dominate pipelines.
  • Partnerships with startups and tech firms will rise as companies seek new ideas without long-term risk.

Boards are sending a clear message: Innovate smart, execute fast, or step aside.

Click here for more columns by Gail Martino; if you enjoy this content, please consider connecting with Gail Martino on LinkedIn.

Inspired at FEI25 by Out-of-the-Box Thinking

A large field of bright sunflowers in bloom.

The conversation kicked off initially on the first day of the show, during the Rogue Mindset keynote and roundtables, as the audience was encouraged to use the show as a way to think outside the box—while literally filling out postcards and submitting them to the suggestion/idea box embedded into the art mural pieces. From there, the art team took over, inspired by the themes of the conference and the individual suggestions. It was indeed a creative process that took shape throughout the three-day conference.

The murals were produced by creative partner TwoLine Studios (more information can be found at www.twolinestudios.com) and inspired by FEI25’s theme of “Harvesting Innovation.”

Heather Willems, TwoLine Studios founder and visual strategist, notes that, “At FEI2025, our goal was to visually capture the theme of Harvesting Innovation and the dynamic tension between human creativity and new technology. We listened deeply and heard Steve Wozniak remind us to stay open to inspiration, while Rita McGrath emphasized ‘tinkering’ as a path to learning. One thing was crystal clear: the future belongs to those who can merge artificial intelligence with artistic intelligence.”

She adds, “As we embrace AI as a thought partner, we also need to protect our human skills: imagination, empathy, and curiosity. That is how innovation will flourish.”

Highlights from the FEI25 Idea Box Artwork

  • “Human Intelligence + Artificial Intelligence = Collective Intelligence.”
  • “How can we build the space economy?”
  • “FEI25 = No hype AI conversation.”
  • “What is the state of flying vehicles in urban markets?”
  • “AI needs nuclear energy.”
  • “Quantum computing is upon us.”
  • “Enter first. Do the best you can.”
  • “Chief Disruption Officers… report directly to the board.” —Steve Wozniak
  • “We live in different worlds but on the same planet.”
  • “Humans only activate humans.”
  • “We can’t search for inspiration. Inspiration finds us. Be open to it. Let your mind wander.”
  • “Celebrating a quarter century of innovation luminaries.”
  • “Innovation is not a thing, it is a choice.”—Jamaar Smiley
  • “And authenticity is universal.”
  • “2nd annual FEI Seed Stage Startup Competition: Collective Intelligence.”
  • “Be patient but be impatient with your patience.”—Rita McGrath
  • “Establishing a corporate accelerator.”
  • “Aligning innovation with business strategy through analytics.”
  • “Delivering on R&D strategy.”
  • “It is human and AI, not human or AI.”
  • “Establishing an innovation culture roadmap.”
  • “Using AI to connect community, creatives, commerce and content to innovate and create new products.”
  • “You have no vision in innovation, you have purpose.”—Linda Hill
  • “Innovation leaders co-create the future.”
  • “Bridgers.”
  • “Catalysts.”
  • “Scaling AI for better decision-making.”
  • “Innovation ROI: Harness emissions to drive profitability.”
  • “Engaging deliberate rapid prototyping.”
  • “The AI spark / The Human experience.”
  • “Insights are everywhere.”
  • “Create a differentiated journey that competitors can’t recreate.”
  • “Improve innovation’s impact.”
  • “Sow the seeds of end-to-end innovation.”
  • “Harvesting innovation, making sure we grow.”
  • “Inclusive design is an innovation catalyst.”
  • “Show your team.”
  • “Evolution of the new for organizational transformation.”
  • “Enact data partnership for innovation.”
  • “The future is inside of us.”
  • “Learning happens faster when we tinker.”—Rita McGrath
  • “Let’s make the next thing together.”
  • “Bringing outside of the box thinking inside the box.”
  • “Invest in the future you want to see.”
  • “You must be willing to lose your job and invest personally.”
  • “Listen to the dissenting point of view.”
  • “Leaders seek out and listen to the truth, and the customer.”
  • “Have caution of the echo chamber of incompetence.”
  • “It just got easier for people to be dumber.”—Anushka’s Dad
  • “Dig deeper into the non-AI. They will merge. Know what you don’t want to lose.”
  • “How do you choose to engage the narrative?”
  • “Art & emotion are everything.”
  • “Humans are best a activating humans.”
  • “Use your imagination. Human creativity drives AI.”
  • “Amplified Intelligence.”
  • “Cognitive amplifier.”
  • “Use for efficiency but be aware of ethics.”
  • “Attract diversity of thought. It is critical to develop the organization.”
  • “Open mindset.”
  • “Focus on the customer.”
  • “Innocence.”
  • “Curiosity.”
  • “Intrinsic learning.”
  • “There is endless opportunity.”
  • “AI is the new frontier.”
  • “Find new ways to tell stories.”
  • “Create a think differently culture.”
  • “Attend conferences like FEI!”

Rogue Mindset Report

A key piece of inspiration for the artwork, FEI and All Things Innovation’s “Rogue Mindset Report 2025: A Collaborative Approach to Decision-Making” set out to explore the topic of thinking differently and to examine just how this curiosity-infused and unique, unconventional mindset can unlock innovation, insights and creativity for an individual, a team and an organization.

We’d like to thank 16 thought leaders in innovation, insights, data science, and academia for exploring this out-of-the-box mindset with passion, creativity, and enthusiasm, and for helping to define just what makes it a perfect fit for innovation and insights.

Access the Rogue Mindset Report