The third of four films showcasing board members’ stories and how they ensure a long-term focus for their companies.
Graeme Pitkethly is the Chief Financial Officer of Unilever, one of the largest and most global companies in the world. As he points out in the film, he’s “one of the few people that had come from outside” the company, joining in 2002 as Group Chief Accountant. An ICAEW member, Pitkethly started his career at PwC and worked in the telecoms industry before Unilever; he took up the CFO role in 2015 and was appointed Executive Director to the Unilever plc board in April 2016.
Pitkethly talks about some of the biggest decisions Unilever’s leadership team and board have faced since he’s been in his current role. However, he says that looking back on those issues, “I’ve come to associate a slight feeling of butterflies in my stomach … as being tightly associated with learning and developing.”
He’s unapologetic about Unilever’s commitment to the long-term and takes issue with those calling Unilever a ‘woke’ company – it “makes me bristle a wee bit because Unilever is far from a woke company. We think about our sustainable business model because we believe over the long term that will create a more successful business and more value creation.”
He explains the vital role the board played in one of Unilever’s biggest recent decisions to change the company’s historical corporate structure. It moved from operating under a “dual-headed” structure to being a single entity with one class of ordinary shares. There was a lot of scrutiny on this decision and Pitkethly says that the board was crucial in considering the perspectives and then backing the executive team in the decision that was made.
“You feel once the board is unified and behind the change, you feel a certain degree of conviction and confidence,” and that’s important, Pitkethly explains.
CPD courses for boards
ICAEW offers virtual CPD courses to support those considering becoming a board member and those who have recently joined a board, as well as those looking to develop their skills as a board director.
