Alan Jope

Alan Jope is a British businessman, advisor and former CEO of the globally renowned consumer goods brand, Unilever. With nearly four decades at the company, Alan has served in a variety of roles, travelled across the world and experienced how the business operates within a range of cultures. 

After achieving a degree in Business from the University of Edinburgh, Alan joined Unilever in 1985 as a graduate marketing trainee, soon graduating from Harvard Business School's General Management Program and working his way up to serving as the President of Beauty and Personal Care, the largest division at Unilever. In 2009, he led operations across China and North Asia, during which he helped it double in size and laid essential foundations for the success of future endeavours. Two years later, Alan was appointed Unilever’s Leadership Executive, which saw him manage day-to-day processes and ensure the implementation of long-term strategy. Throughout his time at Unilever, he served in a multitude of other sales and marketing roles that placed him around the globe, from the UK and the US to China and Thailand, even holding the position of company President of Russia, Africa and the Middle East. In 2019, Alan was appointed CEO of Unilever, taking over from Paul Polman, becoming responsible for the leadership of one of the world's largest and geographically diverse consumer goods organisations, available in 190 countries and accessible by 2.5 billion people daily. As CEO, he supervised the combining of Unilever's legal structure under one company label, the progression of the brand's Prestige and Functional Nutrition product portfolios, the establishment of the company’s Climate Transition Action Plan, directed the unification of the business’s sustainability and business policies by creating the Compass, and raised shares by 10% after a 4-year low. After five years as CEO, Alan retired in 2025, bringing his 38 years with Unilever to a close. 

He has since taken on active advisory and board roles with several organisations, including serving as Chair of the Board of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited, Vice Co-Chair of the Consumer Goods Forum, and Vice Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Executive Committee. He is a Non-Executive Director of Accenture, Board Member of The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Board Chair of The Leverhulme Trust, Commissioner of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking, and is a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board Advisory Council. Alan is a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, is a guest lecturer at the Royal Society of Arts and is on the Advisory Board Council of Imperial Business School. He has also once appeared as a guest judge on The Apprentice and is a Chair of the British Business Awards.

With a plethora of expertise in business, leadership, economic development, and consumer behaviour, Alan is the perfect addition to a myriad of engagements. His global experiences and successful execution of business strategies have made him an engaging and insightful individual whose invaluable advice, anecdotes, and actionable frameworks are sure to benefit and inspire audiences across all sectors.