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William Hesketh Lever and Samuel van den Bergh were visionary leaders who played crucial roles in shaping the soap, detergent, and margarine industries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Lever, the founder of Lever Brothers, introduced progressive ideas such as profit-sharing schemes, the 6-hour workday, and the model village of Port Sunlight, while van den Bergh, a prominent European Jewish margarine and soap manufacturer, orchestrated the merger of his company with rival Antonius Jurgens in 1927, forming the Margarine Unie.
Van den Bergh's prophetic statement during a family council meeting in 1928, where he predicted the merger of Margarine Unie with Lever Brothers, came to fruition in 1930, creating the multinational giant Unilever.
Despite Lever's untimely death in 1925, his legacy, along with van den Bergh's visionary leadership, laid the foundation for Unilever's success as a global consumer goods company.
Francis D'Arcy Cooper, a key figure in Unilever's management during the 1930s, played a crucial role in shaping the company's future.
As the chairman of Lever Brothers since William Lever's death in 1925, Cooper led a new generation of management alongside Georg Schicht and Paul Rijkens, focusing on integrating the various companies within Unilever into a cohesive Anglo-Dutch team.
In 1937, when the profit-earning capacities of the Dutch and British companies reversed due to increasing trade conflicts in Europe, Cooper recognized the need for a reorganization and convinced the board to take action.
Under his leadership, Unilever sold Lever Brothers Company's assets outside Great Britain to the Dutch arm, redistributing assets and profits equally between the two parent companies, which had always been the objective.
Cooper's strategic reorganization in 1937 was a turning point that helped Unilever adapt to changing market conditions and maintain the delicate balance between its British and Dutch operations, ensuring the company's continued success in the face of adversity.
Harish Manwani's tenure as the Chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) from 2005 to 2014 was a pivotal period in the company's history, marked by significant growth, rebranding, and a commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices.
Manwani oversaw the company's name change from Hindustan Lever Limited to Hindustan Unilever Limited in 2007, aligning the Indian subsidiary more closely with the global Unilever brand.
Despite facing a harrowing experience during the 2008 terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai, Manwani and HUL stood by the Taj Group, emphasizing the importance of values and purpose beyond mere profits.
Under his leadership, HUL launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in India in 2010, aiming to decouple business growth from environmental impact while increasing positive social impact.
Manwani's tenure also saw several HUL brands, such as Brooke Bond, Surf Excel, and Fair & Lovely, cross the Rs 1,000 crore sales mark, reflecting the company's strong growth and market dominance. \
Paul Polman, who served as the CEO of Unilever from 2009 to 2019.
He spearheaded a transformative shift towards sustainable and ethical business practices.
He launched the groundbreaking Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) in 2012, setting ambitious targets to decouple the company's growth from its environmental footprint while increasing its positive social impact.
Sustainability became a core business strategy, leading to Unilever's consistent ranking as the top company in sustainability and a remarkable 290% increase in shareholder returns.
Polman actively sought partnerships with governments, organizations, and other companies to drive systemic change, serving in influential roles such as chairing the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and advocating for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Alan Jope joined the company in 1985 as a graduate marketing trainee and worked his way up through various roles across different regions over 38 years.
As CEO, he continued Unilever's focus on sustainability and social responsibility, setting ambitious goals for climate action, reducing plastic waste, promoting regenerative agriculture, and raising living standards across its value chain through the company's Compass strategy.
Under Jope's leadership, Unilever reported strong top-line growth in 2022 despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, reflecting the benefits of the strategic choices made under the Unilever Compass.
Jope was credited with driving a turnaround in Unilever's business in China when he led the company's operations there from 2009 to 2011.
Since taking over as CEO of Unilever on July 1, 2023, Hein Schumacher has swiftly outlined his strategic priorities and taken decisive actions to address the company's performance.
In his first few months, Schumacher announced an "action plan" alongside the Q3 2023 results, focusing on improving operational discipline and efficiency.
He also disclosed the disposal of a majority stake in Unilever's men's grooming business, Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired under the previous CEO.
Schumacher has firmly dismissed suggestions of spinning off Unilever's food operations, emphasizing that the biggest value-creation opportunity lies in operating the current businesses effectively while continuing portfolio optimization.
He has also stressed that there will be no major transformational acquisitions under his leadership, instead focusing on improving the existing business.
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