Ep. 165: Graeme Pitkethly, CFO of Unilever

Today's guest is Graeme Pitkethly, CFO of Unilever. Unilever is a multinational consumer goods company with 400 brands focusing on foods and refreshments, home care, and beauty and personal care. In 2010, Unilever announced its Sustainable Living Plan with climate-focused benchmarks and goals. Graeme joined Unilever in 2002 and has served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Unilever UK and Ireland business. Before taking the CFO role, he held several senior financial and commercial positions within Unilever, including Senior Vice President of Finance for Global Markets, Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, and Chief Financial Officer of Unilever Indonesia. Graeme brings considerable experience to the role, having spent the earlier part of his career in senior corporate finance roles in the telecommunications industry and at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. I was excited to record this episode as Graeme has been on our guest wishlist for quite some time. Graeme walks me through Unilever's sustainability goals over the last decade, an overview of the company's carbon footprint, and how he ended up focusing on climate. We dive into Graeme's perspective on carbon offsets, carbon pricing, and the areas that are hardest to decarbonize for Unilever. He also touches on why sustainability is vital to the future of the global economy and what initiatives would most accelerate tackling climate change. Enjoy the show! You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests. Episode recorded June 17th, 2021