Alan Jope
Born 1964 · Age 61
British businessman, long-serving Unilever executive; CEO of Unilever (Jan 2019–Jun 2023). Held senior roles across Asia, North America, Russia/Africa/ME and led Unilever's Beauty & Personal Care division before becoming CEO. Appointed CBE in 2024.
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Life & Career Timeline
Graduated from University of Edinburgh (Bachelor of Commerce)
Earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh Business School (inferred as prior to joining Unilever as a graduate trainee).
Joined Unilever as graduate marketing trainee
Joined Unilever in the UK as a graduate marketing trainee, starting a long corporate career.
Appointed VP, Personal Care — Unilever Thailand
Became VP, Personal Care for Unilever Thailand with additional responsibility for Hair Care across Asia Pacific.
VP of Marketing, Helene Curtis (Unilever)
Served as Vice President of Marketing for Unilever's Helene Curtis business.
Extensive leadership tenure in North America (aggregate milestone)
Served in leadership roles in North America for approximately 14 years across various positions (aggregate career milestone).
Global Category Leader & President, Home & Personal Care North America
Took senior roles including global category leadership for Foods & Refreshment and President of Unilever's Home & Personal Care business in North America (period spanning 2000–2009).
Led multiple global food & refreshment categories
Served as global category leader for several Foods & Refreshment divisions while building cross-category experience.
Completed HBS General Management Program
Attended and graduated from Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.
Extensive leadership tenure in Asia (aggregate milestone)
Worked in leadership roles in Asia for approximately 13 years across multiple assignments (aggregate career milestone).
Chairman of Unilever in Greater China; led China business
Appointed Chairman of Unilever Greater China; led the China & North Asia business from 2009 and doubled its size under his leadership.
Appearances and public speaking (media & TV)
Made public appearances including serving as a guest judge on The Apprentice (appearance with Donald Trump reported in press); also a frequent guest lecturer and speaker.
Appointed President — North Asia; Joined Unilever Leadership Executive
Became President of Unilever's businesses across North Asia and was appointed to the company's Leadership Executive.
President, Russia, Africa & Middle East
Took on the role of President for Unilever's Russia, Africa & Middle East operations.
Appointed President — Personal Care (Unilever)
Became President of Unilever's Personal Care business (later renamed Beauty & Personal Care).
Personal Care divisional rename to Beauty & Personal Care
Unilever's Personal Care division was renamed and reorganized as Beauty & Personal Care while Jope was leading the business.
Beauty & Personal Care division performance milestone
Under Jope's leadership the division delivered c.3.6% organic sales growth and EBIT margin reached c.21% (reported by industry press while he led the division).
Announced as Paul Polman's successor (CEO-designate)
Unilever announced Alan Jope would succeed Paul Polman as CEO (announcement reported 29 Nov 2018).
Chair, UNICEF Generation Unlimited (board role)
Served as Chair of the Board of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (role listed among his external leadership positions while CEO).
Vice Co‑Chair, Consumer Goods Forum; Vice Chair, WBCSD Executive Committee
Held senior industry roles: Vice Co‑Chair of the Consumer Goods Forum and Vice Chair of the WBCSD Executive Committee during his time as CEO.
Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Unilever
Assumed the combined CEO role of Unilever N.V. and Unilever PLC in January 2019, leading a global consumer goods business operating in ~190 countries.
Reported sustainable sourcing cost savings
Unilever reported eliminating c.€1.2 billion of cost through sustainable sourcing (cited by Jope when describing cost benefits of sustainability).
Piloted four‑day work week in New Zealand and new flexible employment models
Under Jope’s leadership Unilever trialed a 4-day week pilot in New Zealand and introduced 'You Work' & internal flex marketplace initiatives to experiment with future-of-work models.
Purpose & people engagement milestone: 55,000 trained
Unilever had run purpose workshops for approximately 55,000 employees as part of embedding purpose across the company.
Unilever Climate Transition Action Plan put to shareholder vote
As CEO, Jope oversaw the launch of Unilever’s Climate Transition Action Plan which was put to shareholders in 2021.
Appointed Trustee — Leverhulme Trust
Became a trustee of the Leverhulme Trust, which distributes grants and scholarships across disciplines (trustee since 2021).
Share price recovery milestone (~+10% under tenure)
During Jope's tenure as CEO Unilever’s shares recovered by just over 10% from a four‑year low (reported in press summaries of his term).
Announced planned retirement as Unilever CEO
Jope announced in September 2022 that he would retire the following year after five years as CEO.
Commissioner — Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking
Joined the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking as a commissioner in 2023.
Appointed Non‑Executive Director — Accenture
Became a non‑executive director at Accenture after leaving the Unilever CEO role (appointment reported in 2023).
Stepped down as CEO of Unilever
Alan Jope stepped down from the CEO role in June 2023 after leading Unilever for five years.
Succeeded by Hein Schumacher as Unilever CEO
Hein Schumacher took on the CEO role at Unilever from July 2023, succeeding Jope.
Appointed Visiting Fellow — University of Oxford Saïd Business School
Named a Visiting Fellow at Oxford Saïd Business School (appointment reported as recent while cited sources were updated in 2024/2025).
Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Named a CBE in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to business.
Appointed Chair — Leverhulme Trust
Elevated from trustee to Chair of the Leverhulme Trust in August 2024.
Chair — British Business Awards (public role)
Listed as Chair of the British Business Awards (press mention early 2025 in connection with the event in Edinburgh).
Key Achievement Ages
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