Unilever announced the appointment of Nelson Peltz as a non-executive director of the company and as a member of its Compensation Committee.

Image: Unilever

It is expected that the appointments will be effective from July 20. Nils Andersen, Chair of Unilever, said: "We are pleased to be welcoming Nelson to the Unilever Board. We have held extensive and constructive discussions with him and the Trian team and believe that Nelson's experience in the global consumer goods industry will be of value to Unilever as we continue to drive the performance of our business. We look forward to working closely together to create long term sustainable value for our shareholders and wider stakeholders." Peltz's Trian Fund Management has confirmed that it manages funds which hold interests in approximately 37.4M ordinary shares of Unilever, constituting approximately 1.5% of Unilever's share capital, the company noted. Shares of Unilever are up 7% to $47.08 following the news.