ALAN Jope told a podcast in 2016 that he didn’t define himself by his work. Family, football and motorcycling were just as important. When he takes over as chief executive officer of Unilever on Jan 1, investors are unlikely to see it that way.
They will measure him on his vision for the consumer goods group, and how successfully he implements it. Jope will succeed Paul Polman, who ran the consumer goods giant for a decade. Although shareholder returns were impressive during his tenure, the Dutch grandee divided investors almost as much as the company’s Marmite brand.