At the IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2016, Unilever won the prize for best investor event for its Unilever Investor Event 2015, a three-day trip to Manila and Singapore. The winner was selected by a judging panel of institutional investors and IR Magazine journalists, with one judge commenting that the event has ‘innovative written all over it’. Below you can read an executive summary of the event provided by Unilever as part of its submission for the award.
Why does the nominee deserve to win?
We had strong senior management buy-in to the event – not just from the chairman, CEO, CFO and divisional heads, but also the next layer of management whom it is rare for an investor or analyst to meet.
The event was very interactive and immersive for the attendees, for example:
• visits to consumer’s homes to understand their needs and wants
• interaction with local traders and retailers
• hands-on experience of the latest technology supporting our distributor network
• interactive sessions with brand and country managers
• presentations by CEO, CFO and other members of the senior leadership team
Key sessions were webcast live for the benefit of those not attending in person.
We received excellent feedback from our delegates, and strong attendance by both current and underweight shareholders, as well as sell-side analysts.
We demonstrated Unilever’s position in South East Asia and delivered key messages, as evidenced by the extensive delegate feedback gathered post-event.
Unattributed investor feedback:
• ‘This was one of the best trips I’ve been on – partly because of the location and home visit, but also because we had the chance to meet a lot of Unilever people and they were all a great credit to the company.’
• ‘The access to Unilever talent was impressive. I have never received such exposure at another fast-moving consumer goods business.’
• ‘I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and knowledge that all the Unilever employees demonstrated and the way the overall strategy seems to be embedded in all parts of the organization.’
• ‘I think the format used was very good and I hope it will be copied for future events.’
• ‘It was an excellent trip. The highlight was the visit to the home of a shopper in Manila. I have never done one of those before – it was interesting and also showed the local team in a very favorable light.’
Event resources
Paul Polman, CEO – Setting the scene
Rohit Jawa, head of Unilever Philippines
Graeme Pitkethly, CFO – Value creation
Keith Weed, chief marketing & communications officer – Digital marketing and e-commerce
Peter Ter Kulve – 4G growth in action
Paul Polman – Q&A
Presentation slides
