Alan Jope

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Alan Jope
CBE
ALAN JOPE.jpg
Born1964 (age 6061)
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
OccupationBusinessman
TitleFormer CEO of Unilever
Term2019–2023
Predecessor Paul Polman
Successor Hein Schumacher

Alan Jope CBE (born 1964) is a British businessman. He was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unilever from January 2019 until June 2023, succeeding Paul Polman. [1] Upon stepping down as CEO of Unilever, Jope was succeeded by Hein Schumacher who took on the role from July 2023. [2]

Contents

In the 2024 Birthday Honours, Jope was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to business. [3]

Education

Jope was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1964. [4] He earned a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Edinburgh Business School. [5] He attended Harvard Business School's general management program in 2001. [6]

Career

Jope joined Unilever in 1985 as a graduate marketing trainee. [1] He was the president of Beauty & Personal Care, the largest division at Unilever. [1] He has had stints running several operations including China. [7]

From 2009, Jope led Unilever's business in China and North Asia, doubling its size and laying important foundations for future success. [8] He was appointed to Unilever’s leadership executive in 2011 in his role as president of Unilever’s businesses across North Asia. Previous senior roles also included President Russia, Africa & Middle East; and President of Unilever's Beauty & Personal Care division. Earlier, Jope worked in a number of sales and marketing roles in the UK, Thailand and the US. [6] He was appointed CEO in 2019 and worked until June 2023. Under his tenure shares gained just over 10%, recovering from a four year low. [9]

Jope has been a trustee of the Leverhulme Trust - which gives grants and scholarships of over £120million a year across arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities - since 2021, and Chair since August 2024. [10]

In 2023 Jope became a non-executive director at Accenture [11] and a commissioner at the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking. [12]

He is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, [13] a guest lecturer at the Royal Society of Arts, [14] once appeared as a guest judge, with Donald Trump, in reality TV show The Apprentice, [15] and is Chair of the British Business Awards. [16]

Personal

Jope is married, with three children. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Kollewe, Julia (29 November 2018). "Unilever boss quits after botched plan to move to Netherlands". the Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  2. Lyubomirova, Teodora (30 January 2023). "FrieslandCampina CEO to replace Alan Jope at Unilever". Dairy Reporter. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024" (PDF).
  4. Abboud, Leila; Mooney, Attracta; Massoudi, Arash (30 November 2018). "Unilever veteran Alan Jope takes helm at critical time". Financial Times.
  5. Duff, Eamonn (11 January 2019). "The Rise of Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever". FMCG CEO.
  6. 1 2 3 "Alan Jope". Unilever global company website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  7. "New Unilever CEO Jope banks on recovery in sales growth". www.ft.com.
  8. "Unilever Regulatory News. Live ULVR RNS. Regulatory News Articles for Unilever Plc Ord 3 1/9P". www.lse.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. Jolly, Jasper (26 September 2022). "Unilever chief Alan Jope to retire next year after five years at helm". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  10. "The Trust Board | The Leverhulme Trust". www.leverhulme.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  11. "Alan Jope". investor.accenture.com. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  12. "Who We Are". www.modernslaverycommission.org. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  13. "Visiting Fellows | Saïd Business School". www.sbs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  14. "Alan Jope - RSA". www.thersa.org. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  15. Wood, Zoe (29 November 2018). "Alan Jope: from judge on Trump's Apprentice to top job at Unilever". The Guardian via www.theguardian.com.
  16. Stephen, Phyllis (10 January 2025). "British Business Awards to take place in Edinburgh". The Edinburgh Reporter. Retrieved 1 February 2025.