Unilever goes for the marketer who put new fizz in Coca Cola
When you have the world's second-biggest marketing spend, you want the best people. So Unilever has gone for the man who made a big difference at Coke
Mathieu, 51, who joins the Anglo-Dutch company on April 1, has as his goal helping Unilever double sales - while at the same time reducing overall environmental impact. He will report to Global Marketing and Communications Officer Keith Weed.
Needless to say, Mr Weed has a high opinion of Mr Mathieu: he credits with him with helping turn around Coca Cola by developing the "Coke Side of Life" theme and launching Coke Zero.
Mathieu will oversee Unilever's global corporate branding ; marketing training, including the Unilever Marketing Academy; marketing services; agency relations; and return on marketing investment.
For the past three years Mathieu has led a strategic marketing consultancy BeDo in Atlanta, Georgia, which focuses on sustainability issues. Among BeDo's clients: Johnson & Johnson, Danone, Coca-Cola, Levis and Club Med.That ties in well with with Unilever's own sustainability efforts.
Mr Weed told Ad Age,"I wanted to get some heavyweight marketers in my top team. And the fact that we were able to get someone like him says a lot about the progress we've made and the momentum we've got and the progress we're making in innovation in the marketing area."
Mr. Weed has appointed five senior VPs since taking up his post last year, two of them outsiders: Mr Mathieu and Sue Garrard (communications), previously with the U.K.'s Department for Work and Pensions,. The other three came from Unilever.
"I've got a balance between internal hires and external hires to bring diversity of thought," Mr. Weed said