Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever, United Kingdom

Paul Polman was appointed as an Executive Director of Unilever in October 2008 and assumed the role of CEO on January 1, 2009.  Under his leadership, Unilever has set an ambitious vision to double its business while reducing its overall environmental impact.

Paul joined Procter & Gamble in 1979, and over 27 years he held a variety of senior positions with the company.  In 2001 he was appointed Group President Europe and Officer of the Procter & Gamble Company from 2001. He was CFO of Nestlé S.A. from January 2006, then Executive Vice President for the Americas from February 2008.

Among his external appointments, Paul is Vice Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a member of the European Round Table (ERT) and the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.  He is on the Board of the Global Consumer Goods Forum, and since February 2010 has been a nonexecutive director of the Dow Chemical Company. Paul also serves as President of the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust.

He earned a B.B.A./B.A. degree from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, in 1977 and an M.A. Economics and M.B.A. finance/international marketing degrees from the University of Cincinnati in 1979.