Keith Charles Frederick Weed (born 1961) is
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
's former
CMCO. The CMCO is responsible for the marketing and communications functions, and in this role, he led Unilever's sustainability agenda and the Unilever corporate brand. He held this position from 2010 to 2019. Before this he was Unilever's head of global home care & hygiene.
Education
Weed obtained a Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honours from
Liverpool University
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
in 1983.
In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from
Southampton Solent University
Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and th ...
recognising his contributions to business.
Career
Weed worked as an engineer after graduating university before joining Unilever in 1983 as a marketer.
Throughout his career at Unilever, he has been chairman of Lever Fabergé and chairman of Unilever Export. He has worked for Unilever in the UK, France, the United States, both in global and regional roles across general management and marketing.
In 2012 he was global head of Home Care & Hygiene.
As Unilever's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Weed is on Unilever's executive board with the Marketing, Communications and Sustainable Business teams reporting to him.
Since becoming CMCO, Weed has pioneered new ways of integrating sustainability in business and led the creation of a "sustainable living plan". This plan seeks to grow Unilever, reduce its environmental footprint, and increase its social impact. He also dissolved Unilever's corporate social responsibility department and has integrated
sustainable growth
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...
throughout Unilever's business. In 2014, Weed gave a
TED Talk
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
about the global issue of climate change and argues that sustainability and economic growth can go hand-in-hand.
Weed has also directed significant advances in digital and
influencer marketing
Influencer marketing (also known as influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social i ...
and technologies within Unilever. He championed the 3Vs of Viewability, Verification and Value across the industry. He is committed to tackling stereotypes – gender and beyond – in advertising through Unilever's #Unstereotype initiative. As a part of this initiative, he architected the
Unstereotype Alliance. Weed co-created this alliance with the help of UN Women, and united 24 companies in an effort to remove the portrayal of unhelpful stereotypes from their advertising by 2020.
In 2016 Weed was
LinkedIn
LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
's second most influential writer on the platform in the UK.
In 2017, he was voted as the Marketers' Marketer of the Year by ''Campaign'' readers. He was also voted Global Marketer of the Year 2017 by the World Federation of Advertisers.
Weed was named the World's Most Influential CMO in 2017 and 2018 by
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
.
In 2018 Weed also received The Drum's Lifetime Achievement Award and featured in the Top 50 Financial Times HERoes list as a Champion of Women in Business.
Outside Unilever, Weed is the president of the Advertising Association, a fellow of The Marketing Society, of which he was president from 2003 to 2006, and is a fellow of the
Institute of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...
. He was a non-executive director of
Sun Products Corporation from 2008 to 2016. He is currently chairman of Business in the Community International, a board of trustees director for
Business in the Community
Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the Prince's Charities of King Charles III (formerly the Prince of Wales).
BITC work ...
, a board director of th
Effies and a trustee of Grange Park Opera.
In 2020 Weed was appointed president of the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
Weed was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the
2021 New Year Honours for services to the advertising and marketing industry.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weed, Keith
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
Unilever people
British marketing people
Chief marketing officers
Living people
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
1961 births