Paul Polman

Polman was born in the Netherlands, one of six children; by his own account, his mother was a teacher and his father did administrative work at a tire factory. After earning a bachelor’s degree in economics in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States, where he completed a master’s degree (MA) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in economics and business administration at the University of Cincinnati.⁠[1][1]

Polman worked at Procter & Gamble for 26 years; in the final stage of his career there, from 2001 to 2005, he was the company’s Group President, Europe.⁠[2]

In 2006, Polman joined Nestlé as chief financial officer, and by 2008 he was the company’s executive vice president and head of the Americas.⁠[2][2]

On September 4, 2008, Unilever announced that group chief executive Patrick Cescau would retire at the end of the year and that the board intended to appoint Polman, then 52, as his successor and to nominate him to the board at an extraordinary general meeting to be held in the autumn. Chairman Michael Treschow said Polman had extensive international experience and an excellent track record.⁠[2][2][2][2][2]

From 2009, Polman served as chief executive officer of Unilever, holding the post for about ten years. He pursued a business model centered on serving all stakeholders. Polman has said that during his tenure the company’s revenue and profits grew, it outperformed its industry, shareholder returns grew by 290%, and the company consistently ranked first in sustainability rankings.⁠[3][1][1]

In November 2010, Unilever launched its Sustainable Living Plan, pledging to halve the environmental footprint of its products within ten years and to source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably; the plan also included nutrition targets such as reducing the sugar content of ready-to-drink teas and eliminating trans fats from some hydrogenated vegetable oils. At the launch, Polman said that by halving the carbon, water and waste impact of its products through innovation in sourcing, manufacturing and packaging, consumers could make a small difference every time they used a product.⁠[4][4][4][4]

On July 31, 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the members of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and Polman was named in his capacity as chief executive of Unilever. The panel was responsible for advising the Secretary-General on the global development agenda after the Millennium Development Goals expired, and its work was coordinated with the intergovernmental working group that the Rio+20 conference decided would design the Sustainable Development Goals. Polman has said he took part in the UN high-level panel that initially shaped the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.⁠[5][5][5][1]

In February 2017, Kraft Heinz proposed acquiring Unilever for $143 billion; on February 17, Unilever rejected the proposal as too low, and on February 19 the two companies issued a joint statement in which Kraft Heinz withdrew its offer.⁠[6][6][6][6]

In March 2018, Unilever announced plans to move its headquarters from London to the Netherlands. Because the plan would have ended the company’s dual listing in London and Amsterdam, it met opposition from several major shareholders, and the company abandoned it on October 5.⁠[7][7][7]

On November 29, 2018, Unilever announced that Polman had decided to retire and that Alan Jope, head of its beauty and personal care business, would succeed him as chief executive from January 2019. Polman stepped down as chief executive on December 31, 2018, and stayed on for six months afterward to assist with the transition; he said it had been a great privilege to lead the team for ten years and together build a sustainable business that had changed the lives of millions of people.⁠[7][7][7][7][7]

In 2019, Polman joined the Rockefeller Foundation’s board of trustees.⁠[3]

In November 2025, the management-thinking ranking Thinkers50 placed Polman and Andrew Winston, his co-author of Net Positive, first on its 2025 list. The two also partnered with ExecOnline and Thinkers50 to launch an online course based on the book.⁠[8][8][9]

Polman and Andrew Winston co-wrote Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, which the Financial Times and Thinkers50 named one of the best business books of the year. He works closely with the systems-change organization Systemiq and co-founded IMAGINE, which promotes transformational leadership and collaboration, and is now its honorary chair.⁠[3][1][3]

As of October 2026, Polman is chair of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, One Young World and The Valuable 500; serves on the global advisory boards of organizations including Temasek, the World Trade Organization, SMBC, Allianz and Systemiq; is a director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the European Climate Foundation; and co-chairs Planetary Guardians. He previously chaired the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the UN Global Compact and The B Team.⁠[3][3][3]

His honors include the UN’s highest environmental award, a knighthood conferred by the United Kingdom, France’s Legion of Honour, Singapore’s Public Service Star and the Oslo Business for Peace Award.⁠[3]

Paul Polman personal website: Official website: https://www.paulpolman.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[10]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpolman/ (opens in a new window)⁠[10]

The Rockefeller Foundation: Official website: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]