Ralph was appointed to the Boards of Unilever plc and Unilever NV in May 2005. He is also a member of the Board�s Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Committee.
In April 2005, he became President, Home and Personal Care, and he is a member of the Unilever Executive.
Ralph is also a non-executive director of the InterContinental Hotels Group.
Ralph joined Unilever in the UK in 1979 and held various marketing positions in the UK and South Africa in the following years. He was appointed marketing director of Industrias Gessy Lever, Brazil in 1990. Two years later he was appointed chairman of Unilever Malaysia and, in 1995, he became chairman of Unilever Thai Holdings.
At the end of his time in Thailand, in 1999, he was appointed Commander of the Royal Order of the Direkgunaborn, an honour that can only be bestowed by Thai royalty.
In 1999, Ralph was appointed regional president of Unilever in Latin America and he was appointed President of the European Home and Personal Care business in 2001.
Ralph was born in London and graduated from Leeds University with a first-class honours degree, winning the university�s Adam Smith prize for Economics. At Warwick University, he took an MA in labour relations.
Ralph and his wife Jenny live in Wimbledon, south-west London, with their two sons. He spends his free time with his family and plays sports such as tennis, cycling and golf. He also enjoys the arts, music and literature and is a season ticket holder at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. |