Schumacher defended his approach and record as CEO and said he regretted leaving Unilever earlier than anticipated.

The surprise exit of Hein Schumacher comes less than two years after he took on the top role at the consumer-goods giant.

Unilever stunned investors on Tuesday by moving to replace chief executive Hein Schumacher with finance chief Fernando Fernandez, who will take on the tough task of reviving the consumer group's performance.