Alan Jope, former chief executive of Unilever, has been made a Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) as the King’s Birthday Honours are announced on Friday.
Jope was responsible for leading one of the world’s largest and geographically diverse companies with operations in 190 countries. He instigated important changes, simplifying Unilever’s legal structure, streamlining the company’s portfolio to focus on growth, and undertaking reform of the company’s operating model.
His leadership was crucial to Unilever’s turnover exceeding £60 billion for the first time, up from £50bn five years prior. Under his leadership, Unilever was the first major company to voluntarily put a Climate Transition Action Plan to a shareholder vote in 2021.
Scotland-born Jope departed Unilever at the end of 2023, after five years as chief executive and nearly four decades at the company.
“It was an enormous privilege to lead Unilever as CEO for almost five years. I am extremely grateful for this recognition in His Royal Highness’s Birthday Honours list,” Jope said.
Under Jope, Unilever became a wholly British company at the end of 2020 after it completed a merger of its Dutch and British corporate entities.
