Unilever poaches Diageo head of media as its global media chief departs

Unilever has recruited Diageo’s global media chief Isabel Massey as vice-president of integrated brand experiences.

News of her appointment was reported by Business Insider along with the news that Luis Di Como, Unilever’s executive vice-president of global media, is leaving the company after more than three decades.

The report said that Massey, whose title at Diageo is global head of media, content and connections planning, is set to join Unilever in October.

Di Como oversees the FMCG giant’s global media spend, is responsible for agency relationships and partnerships with media owners. News of his departure comes in the midst of a global media review that kicked off in the new year.

Business Insider’s report cites an internal memo that suggests Di Como chose himself to leave the business, which is cutting jobs and looking to cut costs by around €800 ($883.6) million. Senior changes in marketing have included the departure of Aline Santos, chief brand officer and chief equity, diversity and inclusion officer, after 35 years.

Di Como has spent more than 33 years at Unilever, joining in 1991 as a finance associate based in Argentina. He moved to the UK as global communication planning director in 2007. He took on his current role in 2011, and has been based in Unilever's London and New York offices.

Meanwhile, Massey joined Diageo in 2013 as head of media and futures, Europe, before becoming global head of media and content, marketing in 2016. Before joining the drinks giant, she was a media planning director at Vizeum.