Sue was, until Autumn 2018, EVP Sustainable Business and Communications at Unilever. She has now established her own business, as an advisor on sustainability strategy for companies wishing to step change their strategy and commitment to sustainability. She complements her client work by advising sustainability related organisations on a pro-bono basis.

At Unilever Sue was responsible for embedding the company’s ambitious USLP (Unilever Sustainable Living Plan) into the business and ensuring progress against its 70-plus time bound targets. She was part of the four-strong team that led the rebuttal of the hostile takeover bid by Kraft Heinz and managed its significant aftermath. In particular, Sue was responsible for establishing sustainability as a driver of brand growth. By the end of 2019 Unilever’s ‘sustainable living brands’ were growing 67% faster than its other brands and represented 70% of the company’s growth.

Sue is the Chair of Trustees at the independent not for profit organisation, Blueprint for Better Business, and remains a Trustee. She is a Fellow at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Business Management, and a Fellow of the RSA.

Sue has an unusual background, with two spells in the public sector, and roles in advertising, and public affairs, in the private sector. She has worked on highly diverse topics, from privatising British Gas, to anti drink-drive advertising campaigns, from Government engagement in the notorious miners strike to pensions policy.

Sue’s last role in the public sector was as Director General for Customer Strategy and Communications at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) from 2006 to 2011.

In her spare time, Sue admits to being a horse addict…