Unilever PLC on Nov. 29 said CEO Paul Polman would step down at the end of 2018, as expected, and would be succeeded by an internal candidate in a sign that it would be business as usual at the consumer goods giant.

The Anglo-Dutch company, maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Dove soap and Marmite, said Polman would be replaced by Alan Jope, the president of the company's largest division, beauty and personal care. Polman will support the transition process through the first half of 2019 and leave the company in early July, Unilever said in a statement.

"We believe a change at the top of the company has been widely anticipated, and Mr. Polman's retirement will not come as a major surprise," UBS analyst Pinar Ergun of UBS wrote in a research note. "The appointment of an internal candidate is likely to ensure continuity as Unilever makes progress towards its 2020 targets."

In lunchtime trading in London, Unilever's shares were down 12.50 pence, or 0.3%, at 4,245.50 pence.

Polman's exit comes less than two months after his plan to restructure the consumer goods giant and relocate its headquarters to the Netherlands was scuppered by shareholders.

Polman, 62 years old, has led Unilever for a decade. In that time, the Dutchman championed a broad sustainability-first agenda, boosted Unilever's presence in core and emerging markets, and generated shareholder returns totaling 290%. Notably, in 2017, Polman thwarted a $143 billion takeover attempt by The Kraft Heinz Co.

It was that failed bid that persuaded Polman to embark on a restructuring plan that sought to end Unilever's complex Anglo-Dutch structure, move the headquarters solely to Rotterdam, and thereby protect the company from future hostile bids. That step backfired, triggering an intense revolt from key British shareholders who objected to the proposal to combine Unilever PLC and Unilever NV listings.

One stated objection was that the restructuring would see Unilever removed from the London benchmark FTSE 100 index, forcing index and tracker funds to divest their shares and potentially causing a decline in Unilever's share price in the short to medium term.

When it became apparent that not enough shareholders would vote in favor of the restructuring proposal, Polman and Unilever's board ditched the proposal — a blow that some analysts predicted would hasten Polman's departure.

In the statement, Polman said he was grateful to the company's employees "as I am to Unilever's many other stakeholders, with whom we have worked to build our long-term sustainable business. I look forward to engaging with many of these partners — in a different capacity — to help address the many environmental and social challenges facing the world."

Jope, 54, has risen through the ranks after joining Unilever as a graduate marketing trainee in 1985. The Scotsman ran the company's north Asia business for four years; served as president of the Russia, Africa and Middle East business; and spent a decade at Unilever U.S.

Since 2014, Jope has run the company's personal care division, helping it to deliver 3.6% organic sales growth and EBIT margin as high as 21% — one of the highest in the industry, according to Ergun of UBS. In recent years, Unilever has acquired several small assets mainly in the higher-margin beauty and personal care division, partly to compensate for the slower-growing food business. Under Jope, "we would expect investors to debate the merits ... and the shortcomings ... of such a M&A strategy more openly," Ergun wrote.

In addition to passing the baton to Jope, Polman could have one more major deal to cement before he leaves: On Nov. 27, Unilever was reported to be in exclusive talks to buy GlaxoSmithKline PLC's nutrition business in India, a unit believed to be worth about $4 billion.