The Magnum Ice Cream Company has made two c-suite appointments ahead of its demerger from Unilever and planned listing in November.
It has appointed Peter ter Kulve as chief executive. Ter Kulve has been business group president for Unilever Ice Cream since 2024.
He originally joined Unilever Ice Cream in 1988 as a marketer, with his career development leading to the role of CEO Wall’s China in 1999.
As executive vice president global ice cream category from 2004 to 2009, ter Kulve led the expansion of the category across developing markets, oversaw the globalisation of the Magnum brand and rollout of Ben & Jerry’s in Europe, and led the integration of the ice cream category into Unilever North America.
Outside ice cream, ter Kulve served as founder and business group president health & wellbeing for Unilever, as well as its business group president for home care, chief digital & growth officer and president of the southeast Asia and Australasia business.
Abhijit Bhattacharya, who has been chief financial officer for Unilever Ice Cream since 2024, has been appointed CFO of The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
Prior to joining Unilever, Bhattacharya had a career spanning 38 years at Koninklijke Philips, serving in a range of senior leadership positions in finance and operations across Europe, Asia and the US.
His roles included chief financial officer and member of the board of management and executive committee, head of investor relations and CFO for Philips Healthcare.
The Magnum board
As previously announced, Jean-François van Boxmeer will oversee the management of the company as chair designate, based in Amsterdam.
Van Boxmeer brings a wealth of experience both as a non-executive director and as an executive director. He is currently the chair of Vodafone Group, a non-executive director on the board of Heineken Holding, a member of the shareholders’ committee of Henkel AG & Co and the chair of the European Roundtable for Industry.
Earlier in his career, van Boxmeer spent 36 years at Heineken, serving in a variety of management positions, including chief executive for 15 years.
Van Boxmeer is in the process of appointing non-executive directors to The Magnum Ice Cream Company board, the composition of which will be announced during Q3 2025.
More information on The Magnum Ice Cream Company will be presented at its upcoming capital markets day, scheduled for 9 September in London.
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