New Consumer CEOs Are Getting Tougher, Shorter Jobs

By WSJ City 

Running a multibillion-dollar consumer company is a more bruising job than it used to be. The new bosses may struggle to last as long as the retiring ones, writes Carol Ryan for Heard on the Street.The world's largest packaged-goods companies are going through a bout of c-suite churn. Colgate-Palmolive became the latest to name a new CEO following appointments at Unilever, PepsiCo and Campbell Soup at the end of last year. The top job is open at Reckitt Benckiser.

KEY FACTS

   -- The incoming bosses will have a bumpier time than their predecessors. 
 
   -- Managers now have hundreds, if not thousands, of scrappy competitors to 
      keep tabs on. 
 
   -- A big part of the chief executive's job now is to manage a portfolio 
      shift towards faster-growing areas. 
 
   -- But it is arguably becoming easier to make mistakes in deal-making. 
 
   -- Looking for targets is taking more time too. 

WHY THIS MATTERS

Consumer companies are also a new favourite with activist investors: 27 had activists on their share register last year, according to Lazard. Other investors too are starting to recognise the benefits of a fresh perspective. This ensures that CEOs who get things wrong won't overstay their welcome.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2019 02:27 ET (07:27 GMT)

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