Unilever N.V. and PLC
Annual General Meetings re-elections and
Notification of Changes to the Boards
Unilever today announced that the following Directors will offer themselves for re-election at the Annual General Meeting of Unilever N.V. on 29 April 2015 and the Annual General Meeting of Unilever PLC on 30 April 2015 (the 2015 AGMs): Laura Cha, Louise Fresco, Ann Fudge, Jean-Marc Huët, Mary Ma, Hixonia Nyasulu, Paul Polman, John Rishton, Feike Sijbesma and Michael Treschow.
Byron Grote, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Kees Storm and Paul Walsh will not be offering themselves for re-election at the 2015 AGMs.
Michael Treschow, Chairman of Unilever, said:
"I would like to thank Byron, Sir Malcolm, Kees and Paul for their contributions as Unilever Non-Executive Directors. They have each brought invaluable experience to the Unilever Boards and been a great source of advice and guidance for the business.
When Kees was chair of the Audit Committee he made a huge contribution to both the transformation of that Committee and of Unilever itself. Since 2011 Kees has served as Vice-Chairman and Senior Independent Director playing a key role in developing our long term business model and I would like to thank him for his support in that role.
Byron has been a long term member of the Audit Committee and has, since 2011, expertly chaired that Committee. During a time of much regulatory change he helped to navigate the standards towards more integrated reporting and leadership in corporate governance.
Sir Malcolm has been a valuable member of the Unilever Boards and has played an active role in both the Corporate Responsibility Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Paul has contributed greatly over the last few years as chair of the Compensation Committee, putting leading practices in place in our overall remuneration framework which has helped Unilever to further strengthen its performance culture.
They leave with the best wishes of us all."
If re-elected as a Director at the 2015 AGMs, Ann Fudge will become the Vice-Chairman and Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the Compensation Committee, John Rishton will become Chairman of the Audit Committee and Feike Sijbesma will become Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Louise Fresco will continue as Chairman of the Corporate Responsibility Committee.
It is proposed that Dr. Judith Hartmann and Mr. Nils Smedegaard Andersen join the Boards as Non-Executive Directors. They will be proposed for election to the Boards at the 2015 AGMs.
Dr. Hartmann has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of GDF SUEZ with effect from 16 March 2015. She has been Chief Financial Officer and a member of the executive board of the international media and services corporation Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA since 2012. Prior to that, she had been at General Electric since 2000, where she had a number of CFO roles in Europe, USA and Latin America, the last of which was CFO GE Germany. Dr. Hartmann has also been a Non-Executive Director of RTL Group and of Penguin Random House since 2013.
Mr. Andersen has been Group Chief Executive Officer at A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S since 2007. Prior to that he was Executive Vice-President (1999-2001) and President, Chief Executive Officer (2001-2007) at Carlsberg Breweries. He is Chairman of Dansk Supermarked Group, Vice-Chairman of the ERT European Round Table of Industrialists, a Director of Inditex and a member of the Committee on Business Policies, Confederation of Danish Industry.
Michael Treschow, Chairman of Unilever, said: "I am very pleased that Judith and Nils have agreed to be proposed to join the Boards. They are both distinguished in their fields and will further strengthen the financial and industry expertise of the Boards, which will add considerably to the business."
3 March 2015
Biographies:
Dr. Judith Hartmann
Nationality: Austrian. Born: 1969
Dr. Hartmann joined GDF SUEZ as a special adviser to the CEO and Chairman in February 2015, and will become Chief Financial Officer of GDF SUEZ on 16 March 2015. She has been Chief Financial Officer of the international media and services corporation Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA since 2012. Prior to that, she had been at General Electric since 2000, where she had a number of CFO roles including CFO Global Service, GE Healthcare Clinical Systems, CFO GE Water Europe, Middle East & Africa, CFO GE Healthcare Latin America and CFO GE Germany. Her earlier career included financial positions in The Walt Disney Company and Transport Canada. Dr. Hartmann has also been a Non-Executive Director of RTL Group and of Penguin Random House since 2013.
Mr Nils Smedegaard Andersen
Nationality: Danish. Born: 1958
Mr. Andersen has been Group Chief Executive Officer of A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S since 2007. He was Executive Vice President of Carlsberg A/S and Carlsberg Breweries A/S from 1999-2001, becoming President, Chief Executive Officer from 2001-2007. He has previously worked for de Danske Sukkerfabrikker, Tuborg International, Union Cervecera, Hannen Brauerei and Hero Group. Mr. Andersen is currently Chairman of Dansk Supermarked Group, Vice-Chairman of the ERT European Round Table of Industrialists, a member of the Board of Directors of Inditex, Spain, and a member of the Committee on Business Policies, Confederation of Danish Industry.
Unilever contact:
Treeva Fenwick
Global Director of Media Relations
Tel: +44 (0) 7917 271819
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @unilever
About Unilever:
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers on any given day. It has 174,000 employees and generated annual sales of €48.4 billion in 2014. Over half of the company's footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (57% in 2014). Its portfolio includes Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann's, Lipton, Wall's ice cream, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx.
Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) aims to double the size of the business whilst reducing environmental footprint and increasing positive social impact. It says the USLP is its strategic response to the challenges businesses face operating in an uncertain and volatile world. Its three goals are:
· Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being
· Decoupling their growth from their environmental impact
· And enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020
Supporting these goals, the company has defined nine commitments, underpinned by targets encompassing social, environmental and economic areas. For more information about the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/.
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index Series, it attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. In 2014 it led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey - for the fourth year running. In 2014 Unilever was named in LinkedIn's Top 3 most sought-after employers across all sectors and is also LinkedIn's No. 1 most sought-after FMCG employer worldwide. For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.
SAFE HARBOUR
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'will', 'aim', 'expects', 'anticipates', 'intends', 'looks', 'believes', 'vision', or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, and their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Unilever group (the "Group"). They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance.
Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are: Unilever's global brands not meeting consumer preferences; Unilever's ability to innovate and remain competitive; Unilever's investment choices in its portfolio management; inability to find sustainable solutions to support long-term growth; customer relationships; the recruitment and retention of talented employees; disruptions in our supply chain; the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of safe and high quality products; secure and reliable IT infrastructure; successful execution of acquisitions, divestitures and business transformation projects; economic and political risks and natural disasters; financial risks; failure to meet high ethical standards; and managing regulatory, tax and legal matters. Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group's filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext in Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Group's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2013 and Annual Report and Accounts 2013. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
