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2Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2012Report of the Directors About Unilever
HAIRMAN’S
STATEMENT
2012 has been another strong year
for Unlever, buldng further on the
good performance n 2011 Despte
a challengng economc envronment,
the roup contnued to grow above
ts markets, delverng strong top and
bottom lne results The transformaton
of Unlever to a sustanable growth
company s well on track
Unilever’s sustained performance
in these difficult markets is testament
to the strength and clarity of the Unilever
Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) and the
Compass strategy developed by Paul
Polman and his management team.
The USLP is providing the Group with an
inspiring and highly differentiated growth
model, which is driving performance,
energising employees and increasingly
being recognised externally as a standard
for responsible business. The Boards have
been impressed again this year by the
ways in which the strategy is being brought
to life in different parts of the Group, and
the above average results versus our peer
group is testimony to this.
Maintaining good governance
Good governance is essential for the
long-term success of the Group, and
I am pleased to introduce our Corporate
Governance report on pages 44 to 81,
which sets out how Unilever conducts
its operations in accordance with
internationally accepted principles of good
corporate governance. We are very alert
to the current environment around the
remuneration arrangements for Executive
Directors and we remain committed to
linking pay to the longer-term objectives
of Unilever and, in turn, the longer-term
interests of shareholders. We set out more
details on our approach in our Directors’
Remuneration Report on pages 62 to 81.
Strengthening the Boards
A key role for the Boards is to provide
adequately for their succession, and I am
very pleased that Laura Cha, Mary Ma and
John Rishton have agreed to join us
and are being proposed for election at the
AGMs in 2013. Unilever continues to appoint
directors based on their wide-ranging
experience, backgrounds, skills, knowledge
and insight, and I am confident that these
three directors will further strengthen the
diversity of gender and experience already
on the Boards and improve it further.
Additional information on these directors
and the succession planning process
undertaken is given in the Corporate
Governance report and their biographies
will be included in the 2013 AGM Notices
which will be available on our website at
www.unilever.com/agm from 2 April 2013.
Sunil Bharti Mittal will not offer himself for
re-election at the 2013 AGMs. I would like to
thank Sunil for his contribution to Unilever
as a Non-Executive Director.
We are committed to continuing to improve
diversity at Board level and I am pleased
that already 25% of Directors on your
Boards are women. Last year we stated
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2 3 4
8 9 10
2 Kees Storm 3 Paul Polman 4 Jean-Marc Huët 5 Louise Fresco
Vice-Chairman & Senior Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Non-Executive Director
Independent Director
6 Ann Fudge 7 Charles Golden 8 Byron Grote 9 Sunil B Mittal
Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director
10 Hixonia Nyasulu 11 S ir Malcolm Rifkind 12 Paul Walsh
Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director
5
11