Alan Jope (born 1964) is a British businessman. He was

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

from January 2019 until June 2023, succeeding Paul Polman. Upon stepping down as CEO of Unilever, Jope was succeeded by Hein Schumacher who took on the role from July 2023. In the 2024 Birthday Honours, Jope was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) for services to business.

Education

Jope was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, in 1964. He earned a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Edinburgh Business School. He attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

's general management program in 2001.

Career

Jope joined Unilever in 1985 as a graduate marketing trainee. He was the president of Beauty & Personal Care, the largest division at Unilever. He has had stints running several operations including China. From 2009, Jope led Unilever's business in China and North Asia, doubling its size and laying important foundations for future success. He was appointed to Unilever's leadership executive in 2011 in his role as president of Unilever's businesses across North Asia. Previous senior roles also included President Russia, Africa & Middle East; and President of Unilever's Beauty & Personal Care division. Earlier, Jope worked in a number of sales and marketing roles in the UK, Thailand and the US. He was appointed CEO in 2019 and worked until June 2023. Under his tenure shares gained just over 10%, recovering from a four year low. Jope has been a trustee of the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

- which gives grants and scholarships of over £120million a year across arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities - since 2021, and Chair since August 2024. In 2023 Jope became a non-executive director at

Accenture Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...

and a commissioner at the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking. He is a Visiting Fellow at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Saïd Business School Saïd Business School (Oxford Saïd or SBS) is the business school of the University of Oxford. The school is a provider of management education. Business and management classes started at Oxford in 1965 when the Centre of Management Studies, ...

, a guest lecturer at the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, once appeared as a guest judge, with

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, in reality TV show ''The Apprentice'', and is Chair of the British Business Awards.

Personal

Jope is married, with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jope, Alan 1964 births Living people Unilever people 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish chief executives Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Business School Commanders of the Order of the British Empire