VISIONARY SPEAKER SERIES
DRIVING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AT UNILEVER
Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, joins the Hult community in London to explain his
vision of uniting growth and positive social impact to double the size of Unilever.
“We have an opportunity to eradicate poverty, in this coming
decade, an opportunity that none of our predecessors have
had before us. Businesses have to become a pro-active part
of the solution and if they don’t do this they will disappear—
current business models are not designed to survive.” Paul
Polman, CEO of Unilever and Forbes “Person of the Year”
2011, explained to the Hult community on January 29th how he
is helping the consumer goods giant take a longer-term view in
order to ensure its long-term success. By scrapping quarterly
reporting and introducing a new sustainable business model
which decouples growth from environmental impact, Paul
plans to double Unilever’s turnover and use the scale of the
company to make a positive contribution to areas related to
its business.
What kind of leader is required to lead these new sustainable business models? Paul thinks today’s increasingly complex
global challenges require leaders that are authentic and
purpose-driven, and systemic thinkers that can create order
out of complexity. Paul praised the Hult Prize for enlisting the
young in tackling global social challenges as he sees young
people, and in particular, women, as vital actors in driving
change. He was also excited to be partnering with Hult as
part of an Action Project at the Dubai campus with a focus
on Africa. Paul’s parting request to the Hult community? “If
you have been given these chances and gifts it is your duty
to put them to good use, so that you can say to yourself,
‘I have made a difference, I have been a good leader.’”
Listen to Paul’s speech and download the summary
at: hult.edu/vss
“The multiplier effect of Hult International Business School
is enormous, graduating some 2,000 students a year, who
go out and try to have a positive impact and an enormous
contribution to society.”
Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever
hult.edu/alumni 9