Lonely Quest of Unilever's CEO Paul Polman
When Paul Polman became the CEO of the multinational Unilever in 2009, he set out on a quest to convince his colleagues, his board, and the outside world that companies do not have the right to exist if their only purpose is making money. More importantly, he set out to prove that a company could in fact be both profitable and sustainable. The Great Battle or The Lonely Quest of Unilever's CEO Paul Polman investigates how Polman navigated between making money and doing the right thing. Smit convincingly argues that Polman was too far ahead of his time, but that his ideas about responsible capitalism are the very thing we need to turn the tide.
After finishing his MBA Jeroen Smit (1963) worked as a strategy consultant before starting a 30-year- career in business journalism. He wrote books about the rise and fall of the CEOS’ of Ahold, ABN Amro, and most recently Unilever. What makes leaders come to believe in their own truth? Turning their companies into victims of groupthink and tunnel vision! With his investigative approach, Smit shows the inner workings of these companies to the general public.