Thursday, November 6, 2014

Paul Polman: Unilever CEO

Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman was born on July 11, 1956 in Enschede, Netherlands. He earned a BBA/BA in 1977 from the University of Groningen.  At the University of Cincinnati he obtained an MA in Economics and an MBA in Finance and International Marketing (both) in 1979.

At one point Paul wanted to become a priest then decided to join the business world. He was working nights for Procter & Gamble (P&G) then joined its finance department in 1979.  He began as a Cost Analyst and worked for the company for 27 years. His last promotion was as Group President Europe in 2001.

Paul then joined Nestle in 2006 as Chief Financial Officer and Head of the Americas. Then on January 1, 2009 he became CEO of Unilever. Paul is credited with turning around the company’s fortune. Since joining in 2009 Paul has overseen the company’s share prices increase by around 50 percent. As head of the world’s third-largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company he has strongly pushed the sustainability agenda. 

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