Struggling to align purpose with profit? Wondering how to navigate the complexity of sustainability in today’s business landscape?. His talks empower businesses to drive systemic change while improving their bottom line.
Paul Polman is committed to accelerating business action on climate change and inequality. He firmly believes that humanity can only overcome its greatest shared challenges through deep systemic change and bold new partnerships to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop.
He has been ranked number 3 on the Thinkers50 list.
As CEO of Unilever (2009–2019), Paul Polman proved that companies can be profitable through purpose, combining a long-term, multi-stakeholder model with outstanding financial performance. Under his leadership, shareholder returns increased by 290%, while the company was consistently ranked as the world’s number one in sustainability and one of the best places to work.
Today, Paul collaborates with various organizations and initiatives to accelerate the global action needed to regenerate our planet, renew our economies, and reunite our societies. He helps businesses move further and faster on these goals, including through his work with Systemiq and the mobilization of private capital.
He also drives bold coalitions in industries like fashion and food, and fosters partnerships among the private sector, governments, and civil society, including his leadership in the UN Global Compact and his role as Ambassador for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns.
Paul Polman is also deeply passionate about developing the next generation of leaders. He does this as Chair of the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, and through his work with INSEAD, IESE, and the PRME and One Young World boards.
In 2021, Paul co-authored the acclaimed book “Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take” with sustainability expert Andrew Winston, which outlines how to build successful companies that solve the world’s problems instead of creating them.
He is also an active campaigner for human rights, including promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities through Valuable 500 and the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust, which he founded with his wife Kim.
