Clorox has named Fabian Garcia, a consumer-products executive with experience at Unilever, Revlon, Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble, as its next chief executive. He will take over on January 5, 2027, when Linda Rendle leaves the CEO role and steps down as board chair and a director.
The change separates the CEO and chair roles: Matthew Shattock, currently the board’s lead independent director, will become independent chair. Rendle will remain with Clorox as a senior adviser through April 2, 2027, to help with the transition.
Leadership and board changes
- Garcia, 66, has led Unilever’s Personal Care business group since 2022, after serving as president of Unilever North America. He was Revlon’s CEO from 2016 to 2018 and held roles at Colgate-Palmolive from 2003 to 2016, including chief operating officer for global innovation and growth. Earlier, he held global leadership positions at Procter & Gamble.
- Garcia serves on Wells Fargo’s board and previously served on the boards of Kimberly-Clark and Arrow Electronics. He will join Clorox’s board as CEO and will receive no additional pay for his director service.
- Shattock will receive a $225,000 annual retainer for serving as independent chair, on top of the regular non-employee director retainer and deferred-stock-unit grant.
Garcia’s compensation
- His offer letter sets annual base salary at $100,000 and a target annual bonus of $2 million. The bonus is to be paid in Clorox shares and prorated for fiscal 2027.
- His target long-term incentive award for the current fiscal year is $4.55 million, prorated. It consists of 60% performance share units tied to results over fiscal 2027–2029 and 40% restricted stock units that vest over four years. Both are generally subject to continued employment; the performance shares also depend on results.
- Beginning in September 2027, his target annual long-term incentive award will be $9.1 million. It will include performance share units tied to a three-year performance period and restricted stock units vesting over four years.
- Garcia will also receive a one-time restricted-stock award with a target value of $11 million, intended to replace equity incentives he gives up by leaving his previous employer. It vests over three years, subject to continued employment, but would vest in full if he is terminated involuntarily without cause or leaves for good reason.
- Clorox says it will initially use a $1.25 million peer-median salary, reviewed annually, for salary-related benefits and perquisites, including calculations under its severance and change-in-control arrangements. That benchmark is distinct from the $100,000 annual base salary specified in Garcia’s offer letter.
Rendle’s transition
- Rendle’s current $1.35 million base salary will continue during her advisory period, which runs from January 5 through April 2, 2027.
- Her transition will be treated as a retirement under the terms of her outstanding long-term incentive awards, which will vest according to their existing terms. She will receive no new long-term or incentive equity awards during the advisory period.
The handover puts Garcia in charge of Clorox while an independent director takes the board chair, and gives Rendle a defined, roughly three-month advisory role. Garcia’s pay package includes substantial stock-based incentives, with performance awards and restricted shares making up the long-term compensation described.