Unilever recently announced the opening of Four Acres Singapore, the company’s first global leadership development centre outside of the UK.
This e50 million facility will play a key role in developing the talent to lead Unilever, as it aims to double the size of the business, while halving its environmental impact and increasing its positive social impact. Unilever’s decision to locate the new facility in Asia highlights the company’s increasing focus on developing and emerging markets, which now account for over 55 per cent of its global revenue. In the past three years, Unilever has grown consistently, increasing turnover by over e10 billion. Four Acres Singapore will help increase the supply of talented leaders to sustain this momentum. Singapore Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, opened the facility, accompanied by Mr Leo Yip, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board, Mr Png Cheong Boon, Chief Executive Officer, JTC Corporation, Mr Manohar Khiatani, President and CEO, Ascendas and Mr Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever. “In an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, a new type of leader is being called for – both in Unilever and society as a whole. These leaders must be guided by values and understand the responsibility of leadership for the 21st century. We will actively seek and develop these leaders through Four Acres,” said Mr Polman. “Four Acres London has set the standard in leadership development since it was established over 60 years ago, underpinning our commitment to nurturing world class talent. The launch of Four Acres Singapore will continue this tradition, further lifting our capacity and underlining our commitment to Asia – as an increasingly important hub for talent,” he added. Four Acres Singapore will deliver more than half of all of Unilever’s global leadership development programmes, as part of a single, fully global curriculum. The academic programme has been developed in partnership with some of the world’s leading academic and business institutions such as INSEAD, Harvard Business School and Singapore Management University. With the opening of the new campus, Unilever will have the capability to deliver training to around 2,800 people annually, across both locations.
