Unilever has unveiled a key reshuffle in its global marketing leadership as part of its ongoing effort to deepen the impact of its enterprise-wide transformation and align marketing more closely with its Business Groups.
Over the past few years, the FMCG giant has been reshaping how it builds brands and connects with consumers under the leadership of Esi Eggleston Bracey, Chief Growth & Marketing Officer. With the transformation now moving into a more execution-led phase, Unilever believes tighter integration between central marketing and Business Groups will enable greater speed, relevance, and effectiveness.
As part of this shift, Leandro Barreto—currently Chief Marketing Officer for Unilever’s Beauty & Wellbeing Business Group—will step into an expanded role as Chief Marketing Officer, Unilever and Beauty & Wellbeing, effective 1 January 2026. In addition to continuing his leadership of the Beauty & Wellbeing portfolio, Barreto will take charge of Unilever’s enterprise-wide marketing agenda.
With more than 20 years of global marketing experience, Barreto is known for his bold creative approach and his ability to build culturally relevant brands. Unilever noted that his strength in linking long-term capability building with Business Group-level execution positions him well to steer the company’s next phase of marketing evolution.
The transition also coincides with the planned exit of Esi Eggleston Bracey, who will depart Unilever at the end of January 2026 after an eight-year tenure. Since joining the company in 2018 to lead Beauty & Personal Care in North America, Bracey has been credited with driving strong regional performance and later redefining Unilever’s global demand-generation model as CGMO. She will work closely with Barreto through January to ensure continuity during the transition.
Commenting on the leadership changes, Fernando Fernandez, CEO, Unilever, said: “I would like to thank Esi for her significant contribution to Unilever and wish her every success in the next chapter of her career. 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.”
The realignment highlights Unilever’s sharpened focus on agility, performance, and Business Group empowerment as it seeks to build stronger brands and sustain growth in a rapidly evolving consumer environment.
