Unilever has ousted CEO Hein Schumacher after less than two years at the helm, as the consumer goods giant seeks to speed up its turnaround plans.

Unilever surprised investors on Tuesday by ousting chief executive Hein Schumacher and replacing him with finance chief Fernando Fernandez, who will focus on speeding up the execution of the consumer group's turnaround strategy.

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