Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, KBE[1] (born 11 July 1956) is a Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British/Dutch consumer goods company Unilever.[2] Polman is also the author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.[3]
Whilst CEO of Unilever from 2009 to 2019, he set an ambitious vision to fully decouple business growth from its overall environmental footprint and increase the company’s positive social impact through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.[4][5] During Polman’s tenure, he provided a return vastly superior to rivals and more than double that of the FTSE index.[6] In 2018, the Financial Times called Polman “a standout CEO of the past decade.”[7]
In 2019, alongside Jeff Seabright (formerly the Chief Sustainability Officer of Unilever), he co-founded a new organisation called Imagine to help businesses "eradicate poverty and inequality, and stem runaway climate change".[8] In 2022, Imagine Consultancy was purchased by Systemiq, an environmental consultancy firm focused on essential system change, of which Polman is a board-member and major shareholder.[9]
Polman was also an early proponent of Net Positive investing, through which he invests in for-profit companies whose mission is to deliver both high impact and financial returns. Polman sits on the Founders Board of TPG Rise, a $7 billion social-impact fund, alongside Bono and Jeffrey Skoll.[10] Polman is also founding Co-Chair of EQT Future, a €3 billion long-hold impact fund, alongside Jacob Wallenberg.[11] Polman is also an active Venture Capital investor having participated in several high profile fundraises for climate and mission focused companies.[12] As a result of his work championing causes around climate change, inequality, and sustainability, Polman has become a prominent global figure in the push for more responsible business.[13]
^"Honorary Awards" (PDF). Retrieved 10 January 2018.
^"Paul Polman". Unilever global company website. Archived from the original on 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
^"Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take". Net Positive. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Unilever chief Paul Polman named Chair of ICC, world's largest business organisation". ICC - International Chamber of Commerce. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
Paulus Gerardus Josephus Maria Polman, KBE (born 11 July 1956) is a Dutch businessman and author. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the British/Dutch...
served as CEO of Unilever from January 2019 until June 2023, succeeding PaulPolman. Upon stepping down as CEO of Unilever, Jope was succeeded by Hein Schumacher...
aid Marc Polmans (born 1997), South African-born Australian tennis player PaulPolman (born 1956), Dutch businessman, CEO of Unilever Polman Stadion,...
Imperial Chemical Industries in 1997. In the 2010s, under the leadership of PaulPolman, the company gradually shifted its focus towards health and beauty brands...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
elected chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) succeeding PaulPolman. He previously served as ICC's First Vice-Chair since June 2018. On January...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
Industry. HarperBusiness. ISBN 0-88730-914-3. "Reading recommendations: PaulPolman and Michael Dell have new books out". Fortune. Archived from the original...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
Martin Dempsey KBE United States 2016 Edna O'Brien DBE Ireland 2017 PaulPolman KBE Netherlands 2017 Pauline Philip DBE Ireland 2017 Ralph Lauren KBE...
they were assembling CEOs from global companies, including Indra Nooyi, PaulPolman and Jamie Dimon, to work on a proof of concept to encourage and measure...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...
People Antonius Johannes Jurgens William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme PaulPolman Morris Tabaksblat Samuel van den Bergh Sidney J. van den Bergh Simon...