Bayer vs Unilever: Founders, CEOs and History
Bayer was founded in 1863 by Friedrich Bayer, Johann Friedrich Weskott and is led by Bill Anderson. Unilever was founded in 1929 by William Hesketh Lever, Samuel van den Bergh, Anton Jurgens and is led by Fernando Fernandez.
Company facts
Founders
Bayer
Friedrich Bayer
Bayer was founded in 1863 in Barmen, now part of Wuppertal, Germany, by two men with complementary skills: Friedrich Bayer, a dye merchant, and Johann Friedrich Weskott, a master dyer.
Johann Friedrich Weskott
Johann Friedrich Weskott was a German master dyer who co-founded what became Bayer. In 1863 he and his friend Friedrich Bayer, a dye salesman, formed Friedr. Bayer et comp. in Barmen, now part of Wuppertal, Germany.
Unilever
William Hesketh Lever
William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) co-founded Lever Brothers with his brother James in 1885 and built it around Sunlight Soap, one of the first branded, individually wrapped soaps sold at mass scale.
Samuel van den Bergh
Samuel van den Bergh led Van den Bergh, a Dutch margarine maker that became one of Jurgens' main rivals. The two families combined their businesses into Margarine Unie in 1927, and Margarine Unie merged with Lever Brothers in 1929 to create Unilever.
Anton Jurgens
Anton Jurgens' family firm was among the first to manufacture margarine commercially in the Netherlands after the product was invented in France. Jurgens competed for decades with the Van den Bergh family before the two merged into Margarine Unie in 1927.
CEOs and their tenures
Bayer
- Werner Wenning2002–2010
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management
Wenning led Bayer from April 2002 to September 30, 2010. He took over months after the worldwide withdrawal of the cholesterol drug Baycol and spent his early years settling the claims that followed.
Source - Marijn Dekkers2010–2016
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management
Dekkers was CEO from October 1, 2010 to April 30, 2016 and the first Bayer chief executive hired from outside the company. He narrowed Bayer to life sciences: in 2014 Bayer bought the consumer care business of Merck and Co.
Source - Werner Baumann2016–2023
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management
Baumann became CEO in May 2016 and retired at the end of May 2023 after 35 years at Bayer. His defining decision was the acquisition of Monsanto, completed on June 7, 2018 at USD 128 per share, about USD 63 billion in total.
Source - Bill Anderson2023–present
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management
Anderson, a chemical engineer who previously ran Roche's pharmaceuticals division and Genentech, joined Bayer's Board of Management on April 1, 2023 and became CEO on June 1, 2023.
Source
Unilever
- Alan Jope2019–2023
Chief Executive Officer
Jope simplified Unilever's legal structure and organisation, which made later portfolio separations easier.
Source - Hein Schumacher2023–2025
Chief Executive Officer
Schumacher reset Unilever around fewer, bigger brands and set up the Ice Cream demerger before stepping down in February 2025.
Source - Fernando Fernandez2025–present
Chief Executive Officer
As CFO, the highly experienced Latin American executive enforces absolute financial discipline, attempting to restore investor confidence after years of sluggish stock performance.
Source
Timeline: Bayer and Unilever side by side
1863Bayer
Bayer Founded in Barmen, Germany
Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott entered Friedrich Bayer et. Compagnie into the commercial register in Barmen, Germany, on August 1, 1863, to make synthetic fuchsine and aniline dyes for the textile industry using the new coal-tar chemistry.
1884Unilever
Lever soap factory opens
William Hesketh Lever built the Port Sunlight soap business that became a key Unilever predecessor.
1898Bayer
Heroin Marketed as a Cough Suppressant
Bayer began selling diacetylmorphine under the trademark Heroin as a cough suppressant and a supposedly non-addictive substitute for morphine. It stayed in Bayer's range until after World War I, long after its addictiveness was understood.
1899Bayer
Aspirin Registered as a Trademark
The Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann had synthesized acetylsalicylic acid in a stable, pure form in 1897, and Bayer registered the trademark Aspirin on March 6, 1899. It became the first mass-market synthetic medicine and is still one of the most widely used.
1903Bayer
Veronal Barbiturate Sleep Aid Launched
Bayer licensed diethylbarbituric acid from Emil Fischer and Joseph von Mering and sold it as Veronal, the first barbiturate sleep aid.
1912Bayer
Headquarters Moved to Leverkusen
Under Carl Duisberg, Bayer moved its main chemical plant and head office to Leverkusen on the Rhine, building one of the largest industrial chemical sites in Europe. Leverkusen is still the group headquarters.
1918Bayer
US Assets Confiscated During World War I
Bayer's US assets and trademarks, including the Aspirin trademark, were confiscated by the Alien Property Custodian and sold to Sterling Products. Bayer lost its largest export market and the right to its own name in North America for decades.
1925Bayer
Merger into IG Farben
Bayer merged with BASF, Hoechst, Agfa and other German chemical companies to form IG Farbenindustrie AG, then the largest chemical and pharmaceutical group in the world. IG Farben's role in the Nazi war effort led the Allies to dissolve it after World War II.
1929Unilever
Unilever created
Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie merged to form Unilever.
1929Unilever
Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie Merge
Lever Brothers and the Dutch Margarine Unie merged in 1929 to form Unilever.
1932Bayer
Prontosil Discovered by Gerhard Domagk
Gerhard Domagk, leading a research team in the Bayer laboratories, developed Prontosil, the first sulfonamide antibacterial and the forerunner of modern antibiotics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1939 for the work.
1951Bayer
Re-established After the IG Farben Dissolution
Bayer was reincorporated as Farbenfabriken Bayer AG in 1951 after the Allied dissolution of IG Farben and rebuilt as an independent chemical and pharmaceutical company during West Germany's post-war recovery.
1984Unilever
Acquired Brooke Bond
Unilever acquired Brooke Bond in 1984 for ~$515 million (£390 million).
1989Unilever
Acquired Calvin Klein Cosmetics
Unilever acquired Calvin Klein Cosmetics in 1989.
1993Unilever
Acquired Breyers
Unilever acquired Breyers in 1993.
1994Bayer
US Bayer Trademark Rights Reclaimed
Bayer bought Sterling Winthrop's over-the-counter drug business from SmithKline Beecham for about USD 1 billion, recovering the US and Canadian rights to the Bayer name and the Bayer Cross confiscated in 1918, plus the Aspirin trademark in Canada.
2000Unilever
Acquired Maille
Unilever acquired Maille. Unilever acquired Maille in 2000.
2001Bayer
Baycol Withdrawn Worldwide
Bayer voluntarily withdrew its cholesterol drug Baycol, sold as Lipobay outside the United States, in August 2001 after cases of fatal rhabdomyolysis, particularly at higher doses and in combination with gemfibrozil.
2006Bayer
Schering AG Acquired for About EUR 17 Billion
Bayer acquired Schering AG of Berlin for about $19.2 billion (EUR 17 billion) after counter-bidding against a hostile approach from Merck KGaA, adding the Mirena contraceptive franchise, oncology assets and a European pharmaceutical sales force.
2014Bayer
Merck Consumer Care Acquired for USD 14.2 Billion
Bayer closed the purchase of the consumer care business of Merck and Co. on October 1, 2014 for USD 14.2 billion in cash, adding Claritin, Coppertone and Dr. Scholl's and making Bayer one of the largest non-prescription medicine companies in the world.
2015Bayer
Covestro Spin-off
Bayer listed its materials science division as Covestro through an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, ending its presence in plastics and polymers and leaving a group focused on pharmaceuticals, consumer health and crop science.
2018Bayer
Monsanto Acquisition Completed for About USD 63 Billion
Bayer completed the acquisition of Monsanto on June 7, 2018, paying USD 128 per share, about USD 63 billion in total, the largest foreign acquisition by a German company.
2019Unilever
Alan Jope becomes CEO
Alan Jope became CEO of Unilever in 2019. Jope simplified Unilever's legal structure and organisation, which made later portfolio separations easier.
2020Bayer
USD 10.9 Billion Roundup Settlement
Bayer agreed to pay about USD 10.9 billion to settle roughly 113,000 Roundup claims while continuing to maintain that glyphosate does not cause cancer. The programme did not end the litigation and new claims kept arriving.
2020Unilever
Legal structure unified
Unilever moved to a single parent company structure after decades with British and Dutch holding companies.
2020Unilever
Single Parent Company
Unilever unified its dual structure into a single parent company, Unilever PLC, in November 2020.
2023Bayer
Bill Anderson Becomes CEO
Werner Baumann retired at the end of May 2023 after 35 years at Bayer. Bill Anderson, previously head of Roche's pharmaceuticals division and of Genentech, joined the Board of Management in April and became CEO on June 1, 2023.
2024Bayer
Dynamic Shared Ownership Rolled Out
Bayer began introducing the Dynamic Shared Ownership operating model, replacing layers of middle management with self-directed teams.
2025Bayer
Nubeqa Approved in the US for Metastatic Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer
The FDA approved Nubeqa (darolutamide) in June 2025 for metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer, a third indication, followed by EU authorization in July 2025.
2025Unilever
Fernando Fernandez becomes CEO
Fernando Fernandez was appointed CEO effective March 2025.
2025Unilever
Ice Cream demerger reflected
Unilever reported 2025 results on a continuing-operations basis after the Ice Cream business demerger.
2026Bayer
Supreme Court Preemption Ruling and Proposed USD 7.25 Billion Roundup Class Settlement
In February 2026 Monsanto proposed a US nationwide class settlement funded by declining annual payments of up to USD 7.25 billion over as long as 21 years, which received preliminary approval in March 2026.
Acquisitions
Bayer
- Monsanto Company2018$63B
- Merck Consumer Care2014$14.2B
- Schering AG2006$21.2B
- Sterling Winthrop OTC Business1994$1B
Unilever
- Dr. Squatch2025Undisclosed
- Wild2025Undisclosed
- Minimalist2025Undisclosed
- Paula's Choice2021Undisclosed
- Sir Kensington's2017Undisclosed
- Weis2017Undisclosed
Questions about Bayer vs Unilever
Who is the CEO of Bayer AG and Unilever PLC?
Bayer AG is led by Bill Anderson and Unilever PLC is led by Fernando Fernandez. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Bayer AG founded vs Unilever PLC?
Bayer AG was founded in 1863 — 66 years before Unilever PLC, which was founded in 1929. Bayer AG's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Unilever PLC.
How many employees does Bayer AG have compared to Unilever PLC?
Bayer AG employs approximately 88,078 people, while Unilever PLC employs approximately 96,092. Unilever PLC has the larger workforce at 96,092 employees, compared to Bayer AG's 88,078. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Bayer AG and Unilever PLC headquartered?
Bayer AG is headquartered in Germany and Unilever PLC is headquartered in United Kingdom. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Bayer AG and Unilever PLC?
Bayer AG was founded by Friedrich Bayer, Johann Friedrich Weskott. Unilever PLC was founded by William Hesketh Lever, Samuel van den Bergh, Anton Jurgens.
Which company has a longer operating history — Bayer AG or Unilever PLC?
Bayer AG has been operating for approximately 163 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Unilever PLC has been in operation for around 97 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Bayer vs Unilever overview