Tom Smiths, currently marketing director, will be the new Head of Country for Unilever in Belgium and Luxembourg. The management change is part of the international reorganization at the brand manufacturer.

Silvia Wiesner is leaving Unilever as General Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg. She will be succeeded by Tom Smidts, currently Senior Marketing Director and Home Care Benelux Lead in the company. Smiths will receive the new title of “Head of Country”, since the role of “General Manager” will cease to exist.

Tom Smidts joined Unilever Belgium in 2010 as Brand & Indirect Communication Manager. He then held various marketing and sales positions at local, Benelux and global level before being appointed Senior Marketing Director, Home Care Benelux Lead in november 2019. In July, a transition period is provided for Wiesner and Smidts.

The change at the top is part of the large-scale restructuring Unilever announced in January. The FMCG company is cutting about 1,500 jobs and removing a number of management layers. 15% of all senior management jobs would disappear, as would one in twenty junior management jobs. The consequences at the Belgian level are now becoming clear.

On March 24, Silvia Wiesner was still on stage at the RetailDetail Omnichannel & e-Commerce Congress, where she explained the digital efforts for the FMCG giant. She also recently shared her vision for the future of the supermarket with RetailDetail.