Unilever has appointed a former Heinz executive to lead the company as it races to fend off criticism over its social values and the threat of an activist investor.

Alan Jope will be replaced as chief executive of the consumer goods giant in July by Hein Schumacher, who is currently a non-executive board member and chief executive at Dutch dairy business Royal FrieslandCampina.

Mr Schumacher said he wanted to “deliver a step-up in business performance” at Unilever. His appointment comes after a failed $50bn (£40bn) bid to buy GSK's consumer healthcare arm and amid criticism of the company's focus on social campaigning.

The scuppered GSK deal – which would have included brands Aquafresh and Panadol – last year, was spearheaded by Mr Jope. It is said to have displeased investors due to the high price Unilever offered to pay. GSK eventually spun off its consumer business as Haleon and listed it in London.

Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Bernstein, suggested at the time Unilever’s shares might be likely to perform better under new management.

Unilever has also faced criticism from investors for focusing on social issues and brand “purpose” rather than returning value for shareholders under Mr Jope's leadership.

Activist fund manager Terry Smith, whose £22bn Fundsmith vehicle is the 15th largest shareholder in Unilever, lambasted the company earlier in January, accusing it of “virtue signalling” and arguing it should be more focused on financial performance.

It came after another activist, the billionaire Nelson Peltz joined the board of Unilever in May 2022 after his fund Trian Partners steadily built up a stake in the company.

Mr Peltz, whose daughter Nicola is married to Brooklyn Beckham, has launched campaigns to shake up the likes of Heinz, Cadbury, Mondelez, PepsiCo and Danone in the past.

Mr Peltz and the incoming chief executive met when Peltz was serving as a director at Heinz. Mr Schumacher worked at Heinz from 2003-2014. Mr Peltz said he had been impressed by Mr Schumacher's “leadership skills and business acumen”.

He said: “I was delighted to learn that he was among the top candidates to become the next CEO of Unilever," Mr Peltz said.

“Like all of my fellow Unilever directors, I strongly support Hein as our new CEO and look forward to working closely with him to drive significant sustainable stakeholder value. I also want to thank Alan for his many contributions to Unilever and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

Mr Schumacher added: “In my time serving on the Board, I have only become more convinced by the strength of Unilever’s fundamentals and its clear growth potential.

“I will be very focused on working with the Unilever team to deliver a step-up in business performance, as we serve the billions of people around the world who use its products every day.”

Unilever raised its prices by 12.5pc in the quarter to the end of September last year, delivering the sharpest quarterly price increase on record amid soaring costs. Mr Jope said at the time he expected inflationary pressures to continue in the first half of 2023.