Unilever's CGMO Esi Bracey Exits Amid Marketing Overhaul

Introduction: Unilever Marketing Overhaul Marks a Leadership Turning Point

Unilever has entered a new phase of transformation as Esi Eggleston Bracey, the company’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer (CGMO), exits amid a sweeping reset of its global marketing strategy.

The move comes as Unilever accelerates efforts to simplify operations, sharpen brand focus, and modernize marketing execution across its vast portfolio.

The leadership change underscores how serious the company is about its Unilever marketing overhaul, signaling a broader shift in how one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies approaches growth, creativity, and brand investment.

Bracey’s departure is not being framed as an isolated executive exit, but rather as part of a larger structural and strategic realignment underway at Unilever.

Unilever Marketing Overhaul and the Role of the CGMO

The CGMO role was created to centralize growth, brand strategy, and marketing excellence across Unilever’s global businesses.

Esi Bracey was tasked with driving consistency, embedding purpose-led branding, and accelerating digital-first marketing capabilities.

However, as the Unilever marketing overhaul gained momentum, the company began rethinking centralized leadership structures in favor of leaner, brand- and category-focused models.

This shift reflects changing realities in global marketing, where speed, local relevance, and performance measurement increasingly outweigh centralized control.

Bracey’s exit aligns with this recalibration.

Why Unilever Marketing Overhaul Is Gaining Urgency

Unilever has been under sustained pressure from investors and markets to improve margins, streamline operations, and deliver consistent growth.

Marketing, one of the company’s largest spending areas, has naturally come under closer scrutiny.

Key drivers behind the Unilever marketing overhaul include:

• Rising costs of digital media and influencer marketing

• Fragmentation of consumer attention across platforms

• Increased demand for ROI-driven marketing spend

• Need for faster content creation and localization

• Greater accountability in brand investment decisions

In response, Unilever has been shifting from broad, purpose-heavy messaging to more product-focused, performance-oriented campaigns.

Esi Bracey’s Tenure and Strategic Contributions

During her time as CGMO, Esi Bracey played a pivotal role in elevating Unilever’s marketing ambition.

She championed inclusive representation, purpose-driven storytelling, and strong brand values across categories such as beauty, personal care, and home care.

Under her leadership, Unilever expanded its focus on digital channels, creator partnerships, and data-led marketing insights.

These initiatives laid important groundwork for modernization, even as the company now pivots toward a different execution model.

Her departure does not negate these contributions but reflects evolving priorities under the Unilever marketing overhaul.

Structural Changes Under the Unilever Marketing Overhaul

As part of the overhaul, Unilever is reportedly redistributing marketing responsibilities closer to individual business units and brand teams.

Rather than a single centralized growth leader, decision-making authority is moving toward category presidents and regional leadership.

This structure is designed to:

• Improve speed-to-market for campaigns

• Increase accountability for brand performance

• Enable sharper alignment between marketing and sales

• Reduce organizational complexity

The exit of a global CGMO role fits into this broader simplification agenda.

What the Unilever Marketing Overhaul Means for Brands

For Unilever’s brands, the marketing overhaul could mean more autonomy but also more pressure.

Brand teams are expected to deliver measurable growth outcomes, not just cultural relevance or long-term brand equity.

The company has already signaled a preference for fewer, bigger brands with clearer value propositions. Marketing investment is increasingly concentrated on “power brands” that demonstrate strong returns.

This shift could result in bolder, more commercially focused campaigns—and less tolerance for underperforming initiatives.

Industry Implications of the Unilever Marketing Overhaul

Unilever’s decision will be closely watched across the FMCG and marketing industries. As one of the world’s biggest advertisers, its structural changes often influence broader market behavior.

The Unilever marketing overhaul highlights a wider trend: large enterprises are reassessing the value of highly centralized marketing leadership roles in an era defined by AI tools, real-time analytics, and hyper-local consumer engagement.

Other global brands may follow suit, opting for flatter structures and more agile marketing organizations.

Talent, Culture, and the Future of Marketing Leadership

The exit of a high-profile executive like Esi Bracey also raises questions about how marketing leadership roles are evolving.

The traditional CMO or CGMO role is increasingly being split across growth, digital, data, and commercial functions.

Under the Unilever marketing overhaul, leadership is less about owning a single global vision and more about orchestrating execution across decentralized teams.

This reflects a broader redefinition of marketing leadership in large, complex organizations.

Conclusion: Unilever Marketing Overhaul Signals Strategic Reset

Esi Bracey’s exit marks a defining moment in Unilever’s ongoing transformation.

The Unilever marketing overhaul is not just about leadership changes—it represents a fundamental rethink of how marketing drives growth, accountability, and competitive advantage.

As Unilever continues to streamline its structure and refocus on performance-led branding, the impact of these changes will unfold across its global brand portfolio.

For the marketing world, this move reinforces a clear message: agility, measurable impact, and operational simplicity are becoming as important as creativity and purpose.