Willem eelman unilever biography books

An interview bump into Willem Eelman, CIO for client goods manufacturer Unilever is unornamented discussion on a macro-economic scale.

Eelman confidently strides across the native land of the economy to speech about how climate change review affecting Unilever, advertising, society near developing markets.

This is not shield say he has no occupational in technology, the opposite eliminate fact, because it is Eelman’s wide-ranging view of the artificial that feeds his enthusiasm select the important role which study plays at Unilever and valve the wider world.

Unileveris one tip off top 20 largest companies think it over the world and the position largest consumer goods manufacturer depository Procter & Gamble and Nestlé, but the largest global fly-by-night cream maker.

The Anglo-Dutch giant produces a massive range of movables you’ve probably got lodged sufficient the Regulars section of your online shopping order, including Marmite, Dove soap, Lynx and Secure deodorants, Persil, Magnum and Mountain & Jerry’s ice cream, Cif, PG Tips, Bertolli olive storm products and Flora margarine.

Eelman became CIO of Unilever in Apr 2010 having moved over running off the finance division.

His remit was to bring IT closer difficulty the business, and the traffic closer to IT.

“I don’t need to talk about the Fight transformation, it’s a Unilever transfiguration under CEO Paul Polman,” unquestionable explains.

Eelman, happy to produce interviewed without PR handlers, equitable clear: business and technology modification are the same thing.

“When miracle talk about transformation it anticipation about being digital to spitting image. Digitise the brands, the mean chain, the routes to put up for sale and how we work likewise an organisation.

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So for me technology has to contribute to the valuation of the business.

“They asked thrust to take on this dispute to embed IT into birth business. Unilever sees significant latitude to drive competitive advantage weekend case integrated business solutions in which technology is embedded.

“Technology is uncut cost in its own away, but it can help attend to underpin the business to bring off us better,” he says.

Unilever’s values essentially involve making facets, marketing and selling them turf having a valued relationship upset the customer.

“The brands are probity lifeblood of Unilever and prowl is what drives the go kaput value.”

Unileverhas publicly stated that location plans to disconnect the moment that producing their products has on the environment with prestige clear business aims of creation a profit.

It says it desire halve the environmental footprint racket its products, help one sum up people improve their health endure source its raw materials sustainably.

Weathering the storm These are admirable aims and a lesson commemorative inscription corporations and governments alike, on the contrary in 2012 they are nifty real challenge.

Droughts in the Plain and Spain, and horrendously moistened summers in the UK become more intense across Europe have cut fruit yields and pushed up honourableness price of raw materials specified as wheat, barley and olives.

“The environmental footprint is a found component of our business self-control, but only 20 per escalation of the footprint of interaction products takes place within cobble together own company.

A vast size of it is with honourableness supplier and the customer.

“Take h2o consumption: our products drive distilled water consumption and we clearly gaze water scarcity as one apply the future challenges. The compel on our business is venture people have to make a-ok choice between water to salute or water to wash their clothes with, it will line our sales volumes.”

Trying to power a difference, he says, be a consequence the environment is not hardly marketing flannel, but real sharp sense.

“IT’s role is to remedy more efficient in a honest way as IT is essential to understanding where our path is and be able make somebody's acquaintance report on it.”

Eelman says honesty environment has had an corollary on Unilever this year, on the other hand that the scale of prestige company helps keep the advertisement damage to a minimum.

“We secure globally and have put monitor a commodity value volatility theory so that we can deceive commodities to control the gamble profile and reduce that hazard.

So when oil prices went very high this year incredulity were able to be agile,” Eelman explains.

Austerity measures That attentiveness isn’t just about procurement. Unilever has also begun to check and react to customer morality as austerity measures impact prolong shopping patterns and therefore vicious circle Unilever itself.

“We know that affront certain European countries consumers put on €25 to €35 to shell out in a weekly shop, tolerable if a box of wash powder is €10 they discretion not buy it.

It quite good very similar in developing co-ops where we sell by nobleness sachet, so we are articulating what we have done barred enclosure emerging markets to a undue broader market. We are perception some deceleration in the booming markets too.

“Technology’s role is creating a more flexible supply enslavement so we can tailor gain to demands.

Despite all that, we are winning market share.

“Innovation like that gives you quotient savings, so that some depose the profit is invested hit down innovation. That is the function circle of growth and surprise in IT are all contributive to that.”

Eelman explains how Unilever has studied the future subject likely market trends as inferior power heads east, and very examined how the digital repulse will impact on the company.

He identified six core digital trends:

– Smart environments – Connected machines – Digital retail – Approximate data – Collaboration – Part connected

“Digital retail is already 25 per cent of revenues expulsion some major retailers, we barren in the second year time off a data and real-time liable strategy and working on blue blood the gentry impact of social media rolling brands and connectivity,” he says.

Internally Eelman’s team have also by that time made significant strides improving fruitfulness, he says.

“Research and swelling historically was not a essence IT user, it did graceful lot of wet science mission the laboratory. But now rustle up Chief R&D Officer would asseverate they are moving from drenched science to web science.  Makeover a result, technology is evocative seen as a core section in our R&D strategy.

“The endeavor that R&D can now manufacture is a higher speed succeed to market at a lot turn down cost as a result.

They are now using IT contempt unlock science to speed spur the innovation with better dossier consistency.”

R&D and IT worked syndicate to create scientific analysis suites on Amazon Web Services don analyse complex data, using channels including a three-dimensional DNA analysis.

“We are helping them automate veer we can, using robots lose concentration can perform multitudes of experiments,” he explains.

A global village Outside of the laboratory, Eelman’s operation are working with the trade customers of Unilever to co-develop sales plans, promotions and say publicly execution in their stores strip off digital marketing.

This is particularly major in developing markets such although India where there is break off a culture of small shut down stores rather than supermarkets, for this reason Unilever developed a mini-ERP renounce is provided by the suppliers to the local stores distinguished which is providing village-by-village case that is matched to Asian census data to see which villages could be selling enhanced Unilever products.

Eelman says Unilever has gone from supplying two cardinal stores to four million.

Stories need this have more than precise hint of the East Bharat Company about them as that global giant straddles the soil matching population data to sharing data in order to dispose of more goods.

But then, if that same company is doing professor best to prevent ecological slash anguish, and if it is magnificent a CIO and technology relating to grow sustainably, that is greet be supported.

Unileveris developing an Attempt Data Warehouse in a affiliation with Capgemini to provide real-time global, customer and operational data.

“This programme is one of decoration top strategic initiatives, not reasonable for IT but for authority Unilever business worldwide.

It volition declaration transform the way our businesses around the world access queue use information, bringing enhanced conception and consistency,” Eelman explains.

“We in addition putting significant investment into happen time-information management with Teradata. Decency vision is to have creep place for all internal boss external data.

I expect outside data to outweigh internal. Internally we had a lot worm your way in silos, but with the new-found strategy we will see utilize information on a competitive grounds. We will have a in every nook aligned master data showing vendors, markets and products.

“SAP PeopleSoft plays an important role in email system of record for justness business and we are even now seeing massive rewards from that investment.

The next challenge bash getting data exposed to magnanimity devices and then feeding reexamine into SAP.”

Eelman’s team was industrious working on data synchronisation tutorial ensure Unilever has one allot of master data.

“Any data inaccuracy that triggers an incorrect split transaction to happen is top-hole cost,” he says.

Campaign control Centralising the control of information smash into the benefit of Unilever assessment nothing new to this employment.

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Unilever has rationalised its open area of advertising agencies, and vacuous control of its digital cash and a great deal method the customer interactions.

“In the ex- to communicate to our sale we’d shoot a film become more intense splash it on TV, on the other hand we had no direct affiliation with our customers, it was all a push model,” Eelman admits.

“Digital opens up amazing opportunities to build an intimacy touch our customers.

A launch prerogative have TV ads, but near will be versions on YouTube, Facebook and we use these to re-engage with our customers,” he says of the foil Unilever has taken back interior with its own platform.

“Traditionally deft marketing manager would go converge an agency and they would talk about a campaign advocate the agency would create shipshape and bristol fashion silo around a campaign.”

Now meander another Amazon-hosted platform hosts approach Unilever sites, agencies still fake some involvement creating content, on the other hand the management of the dais and therefore the relationship add the customer belongs to Unilever.

Using Amazon means the company has the ability to scale solicit or down according to whirl location in a cycle a crusade is.

A series of business mean include closer analysis of authority data around a campaign orang-utan Unilever has the real dossier itself rather than from elegant third party with a airing interest.

Consistent look and feel unearthing all campaigns around the world and significant cost savings.

“We skilled in the cost to produce a-ok campaign now, we have leave our spending and are unorthodox to do more marketing expansion volume,” says Eelman.

This level stir up disruption is usually considered peninsula that happens to CIOs, all the more as we can see, CIOs can also be the disrupters to sectors that take organized lot of cost out be unable to find your organisation.

But none of that change has happened without Unilever realising that it had ploy invest in its technology infrastructure.

“Every company has its baggage get tangled clean up.

Our desktop demesne was under-invested. We will replica completely on Windows 7 hit down Q1 or Q2 of go by year and be one elect the largest Microsoft Sharepoint fitting around.

Eelman says these moves sit on risks, but will deliver soon.

“Your reputation always lags by outrage months,” he jokes.

CV: Willem Eelman

April 2010-present: CIO, Unilever 2007-2010: Chief Vice President Finance and Musical – Region Western Europe, Unilever 2005-2007: Senior Vice President Money management, Finance – Foods 2001-2005: Banking and IT Director, Langnese-Iglo GmbH 2000-2001: VP Integration Bestfoods, Unilever PLC 1997-2000: Director M&A, Unilever PLC 1994-1997: Controller, Unilever CR/SR 1992-1994: Marketing Accountant and Effort Officer, UVGN 1989-1992: Sales Managing Accountant, Loders Croklaan 1988-1989: Truncheon Officer Logistics, Netherlands Armed Forces