As part of our series of interviews with senior leaders, our Chief Procurement Officer, Willem Uijen, discusses how the function creates growth for the company while being uniquely placed to deliver on our commitments to make sustainable living commonplace.

Willem Uijen was appointed Chief Procurement Officer in September 2022. His career in Unilever spans over 24 years, having first joined in 1999 as a trainee engineer in the Netherlands. Since then, he’s worked in many parts of the world and across numerous supply chain disciplines.

Career and leadership
What do you find most rewarding about your job?

We buy materials and services from over 52,000 suppliers and the work we do with these partners really makes an impact on our business today and tomorrow.

Our partners are aligned with our purpose to make sustainable living commonplace. But they also realise it’s difficult to achieve. So, it’s rewarding to see that, by working together, we can come up with truly new ways of doing business.

How would you describe your leadership style?

I believe that by empowering people – so they are able to work on things they’re interested in and passionate about – you get amazing results.

There has to be a strategy, but then I trust my team to get the job done in the best possible way.

Over the years, I have changed my leadership style and I think it’s that ability to adapt to different environments that’s helped me build high-functioning teams.

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