£1 billion man at the helm is tough-talking and charismatic

"Polman is probably the best candidate to become chief executive," said food industry consultant James Amoroso today. "He was probably the only logical choice. He has a deep knowledge of Nestlé and the food industry. Moreover, he is a strong operational and financial operator with excellent communication skills."

Felix Lanters of Amsterdam-based Theodoor Gilissen Bankiers said: "I'm glad Polman's coming. Unilever's stock hasn't been doing too well lately. This could be a kickstart."

Polman has run Nestlé's American business since February and was hot favourite for the top job earlier this year but surprisingly missed out when the food giant made Paul Buckle chief executive.

It was a major disappointment to shareholders there, who had warmed to the charismatic Dutchman and to his frank management style, which had been nurtured over the 26 years that he spent at Procter & Gamble before Nestlé.

His departure has been feared by Nestlé investors ever since the snub.

Ian Kellett of Numis Securities said: "Polman is well regarded by the market following his performance as Nestlé chief financial officer, where he gained a reputation of running companies aggressively and focusing on shareholder value creation. The market will be pleased by this announcement."

But it will not be plain sailing. His appointment will have ruffled feathers among Unilever's top team where four senior men were vying for the job as chief executive.

Martin Deboo of Investec said: "Unilever's challenge now is try to and hold the existing team together. There will be some disappointment there."

Polman has yet to outline his intended strategy for Unilever. But the City is expecting a shift away from big restructuring projects to more aggressive commercial targets, driving sales and cutting costs. A takeover of Colgate looks unlikely with Polman at the helm of Unilever.