Executive biographies

Executive directors

Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer

2009: Becomes Unilever's Chief Executive Officer
2008: Executive Director to the Boards of Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V., the first time an external candidate was chosen for the role.
2008: Nestlé S.A. Executive Vice President and Zone Director for the Americas.
2007: Named by Investor Magazine as CFO of the Year.
2006: Chief Financial Officer at Nestlé S.A.
2001: Group President Europe and Officer of The Procter & Gamble Company
1979: Joins Procter & Gamble

Jean-Marc Hüet – Chief Financial Officer

1991: Commercial manager, Clement trading Milan, Italy
1993: Analyst, becoming associate, of the Investment Banking division – Goldman Sachs International, London 1999: Executive director, Investment Banking Services - Goldman Sachs International, London
2003: Chief financial officer and member of executive board – Royal Numico N.V., Amsterdam
2008: Senior vice president and chief financial officer – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, New York
2010: Joined Unilever as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Unilever Executive

Non-Executive directors

Michael Treschow, Chairman

1970: Joined Bahco Ventilation, divisional management roles in Scandinavia and France
1976: Joined Atlas Copco, rising to Chief Executive
1992: Appointed to non-executive director roles at SKF and Saab
1996: Non-executive board member at Parker-Hannifin Corp
1996: Chairman of the Swedish Trade Council
1997: Joined Electrolux as Chief Executive Officer
2002: Board member of AB Electrolux and Chairman of Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson.
2003: Supervisory Board Member of ABB Ltd.
2004: Chairman of AB Electrolux
2004: Chairman of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise

Jeroen van der Veer, Vice-Chairman & Senior Independent Director

2005: Chief executive, Royal Dutch Shell, following 30 years with the business
2002/04: Member, supervisory board,
Dutch Central Bank
2002: Advisory director to Unilever

Professor Louise Fresco

1990 to 1997: Professor of Plant Production Systems and Chair of the Department of Agronomy at Wageningen University.
1997 to 2006: Various positions at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, including that of Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department.
2009: Non-executive director to Unilever

Ann M. Fudge

Ann M. Fudge is a non-executive director at Novartis AG and at General Electric Co. Non-executive director
1993 - 2003: Served on the Board of Honeywell International Inc
2001 - 2003: Non-executive director of Marriott International Inc.
2003 – 2006: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Young & Rubicam Brands.
2009: Non-executive director to Unilever

Charles E Golden

1970: Joined General Motors
1989: Chairman and CEO of Vauxhall Ltd – GM’s UK operation
1996: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Eli Lilly
2006: Non-executive director to Unilever

Dr Byron E Grote

1979: Joined Standard Oil
1986: Vice President, Retail Sales at Standard Oil’s mining subsidiary, Kennecott
1992: Regional Chief Executive, BP Columbia
1995: Deputy Chief Executive Officer, BP Exploration
1999: Executive Vice President, BP Exploration and Production
2000: Chief Executive, BP Chemicals
2002: Chief Financial Officer, BP

Hixonia Nyasulu

1977: Joined Unilever
1984: Founded T.H. Nyasulu & Associates
1992: Began serving as non-executive director, various blue-chip organisations
1997: Participated IMD programme for board members Lausanne, Switzerland
2002: Board member NEDCOR and non-executive director AECI
2003: Non-executive director Anglo Platinum Ltd
2004: Founded Ayavuna Women's Investments
2006: Appointed to South Africa's Banking Enquiry Panel
2007: Non-executive director Barloworld Ltd

The Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind, MP

1970: Called to the Scottish Bar
1974: Entered UK Parliament
1979: Junior Minister
1983: Minister of State
1985: Appointed Queen’s Counsel
1995: Foreign Secretary
1997: Received a knighthood
2005: Returned to House of Commons as MP
2010: Became Non-Executive Director of Unilever

 
Kees J Storm

1993 to 2002: Chairman of the Executive Board of AEGON N.V.
Mr Storm is Chairman of the Audit Committee
2004: Non-executive director to Unilever

Paul Walsh

1982: Joined GrandMet's brewing division
1986: Finance Director, GrandMet
1992: Chief Executive Officer of The Pillsbury Company
2000: Chief Executive Officer of Diageo
1995: Appointed to the GrandMet Board
1997: Became member of Diageo Board.
2008: Appointed to the Business Council for Britain.
2009: Non-executive director to Unilever

Unilever Executive (UEX)

Douglas Anderson Baillie - President, Western Europe

1978: Joined Unilever South Africa
1978/87: International posts in Sales and Marketing positions
1988: Marketing director
1994: Vice President, Home and Personal Care for the Africa Business Group
1997: Managing Director Lever Pond's South Africa
2004: President, Africa Regional Group
2005: Group Vice-President - Africa, Middle East & Turkey (AMET)
2006: CEO, Hindustan Unilever Limited and Group Vice President, South Asia
2008: President, Western Europe

Professor Geneviève Berger - Chief R&D Officer

1989: Completed PhD in Physics, PhD in Human Biology and Medical Doctorate
1991: Member, Scientific Board of the CNRS Department of Engineering Sciences
1991: Scientific Secretary then, in 1995, Chairwoman, CNRS National Committee for Scientific Research "Treatment and Drugs: Design and Resources"
1991: Director of the Laboratory for Parametric Imaging CNRS/University of Paris VI
1996: University Professor and Hospital MD, University of Paris VI
1997: Head, Department of Biophysics and Nuclear Medicine, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital
1998: Director of the Bio-engineering, Drugs and Agri-Food Department at the French Ministry of Education, Research and Technology
2000: Head of the Directorate for Technology at the French Ministry of Research
2000: Director General of the CNRS

Jean-Marc Hüet – Chief Financial Officer

1991: Commercial manager, Clement trading Milan, Italy
1993: Analyst, becoming associate, of the Investment Banking division – Goldman Sachs International, London 1999: Executive director, Investment Banking Services - Goldman Sachs International, London
2003: Chief financial officer and member of executive board – Royal Numico N.V., Amsterdam
2008: Senior vice president and chief financial officer – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, New York
2010: Joined Unilever as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Unilever Executive

Harish Manwani - President, Asia Africa

1976: Joined Hindustan Lever (HLL)
1995: Member of the HLL board
2000: Senior vice president, Global Hair Care and Oral Care, UK
2001: President, Home and Personal Care, Latin America business group
2004: President and CEO, HPC North America business group
2005: President, Asia Africa
2008: Received the CNBC Asia Business Leader of the Year Award

Sandy Ogg - Chief HR Officer

1972: Joins United States Coast Guard
1983: Becomes a leadership development and change management consultant
1998: Joins Motorola
2003: Joins Unilever as Senior Vice President – Human Resources Foods Division
2005: Chief Human Resources Officer

Michael B. Polk - President Global Foods, Home & Personal Care

2003: Joined Unilever Bestfoods as Senior VP and COO
2006: President of Unilever US
2007: Became President of Unilever Americas
2010: Appointed President Global Foods, Home & Personal Care

Pier Luigi Sigismondi - Chief Supply Chain Officer

1997: Joined A T Kearney as Principal, later becoming Vice President of Operations in Italy
2002: Joined Nestlé S.A. as Vice President of Corporate Operations Strategies
2005: Moved to Nestlé Mexico as Vice President of Supply Chain and R&D
2009: Joined Unilever as Chief Supply Chain Officer and appointed member of the Unilever Executive

Keith Weed - Chief Marketing and Communication Officer

1979: Joins Michelin
1983: Marketing role in Elida Gibbs UK
1992: Marketing Director, ElidaFaberge France
2001: Executive Chairman, Lever Faberge
2005: Head of Global Homecare & Hygiene
2010: Appointed Chief Marketing and Communication Officer

Senior corporate officers

Alan Johnson - Chief Auditor

1975: Joined Unilever as a finance trainee
1975/1983: Various positions in internal audit in UK and Brazil
1985: Chief accountant, UK industrial detergents business
1985/87: Worked in Nigeria
1987/91: VP, Finance in the UK meat business and foods and drinks; co-ordination in Rotterdam
1991/95: Finance director, Lever brothers
1996/99: SVP, Investor Relations
1999: SVP, Finance, Home and Personal Care Europe
2002: SVP, global Ice Cream and Frozen Foods
2004: SVP, Finance, Unilever Foods
2005: Chief auditor

Tonia Lovell - Chief Legal Officer & Group Secretary

1993: Admitted as a solicitor and a member of the Law Society
1997: Joined the Legal department of Unilever
2003: Appointed General Counsel for Unilever’s UK business
2007: General Counsel for Unilever’s businesses

Charles Nichols - Group Controller

1984: Joined Unilever, initially with the United Africa Company (UAC)
1996: Moved to the Netherlands to join Foods Executive
1999: Became vice president finance for Latin America
2004: Vice president Investor Relations
2008: Appointed managing director of Unilever Corporate Ventures
2009: Group Treasurer
2010: Group Controller