Keith Weed
{{Short description|British businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}{{Infobox person
| name = Keith Weed
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
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| birth_place = United Kingdom
| nationality = English
| education =
| alma_mater = Liverpool University
| occupation = Businessman and President of Royal Horticultural Society
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Keith Charles Frederick Weed {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} (born 1961) is Unilever's former CMCO, a role he held from 2010 to 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2019/12/03/unilever-promotes-veteran-marketer-conny-braams-to-chief-digital-and-marketing-officer/|title=Unilever Promotes Veteran Marketer Conny Braams To Chief Digital And Marketing Officer|first=Marty|last=Swant|website=Forbes}} In 2020, Weed was appointed President and Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society. In addition to this, he currently holds various trustee and non-executive director roles.
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Education
Weed obtained a Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honours from Liverpool University in 1983.{{cite web|url=http://www.creativebrief.com/blog/2011/09/20/market-leader-interview-–-keith-weed-chief-marketing-and-communication-officer-unilever/|title=Market Leader Interview – Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, Unilever|date=28 February 2022 |publisher=}}
In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Southampton Solent University for his contributions to business.{{cite web|url=https://www.solent.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates|title=Honorary graduates|publisher=}}
Career
Weed worked as an engineer after graduating university before joining Unilever in 1983 as a marketer.
During his career at Unilever, he has been chairman of Lever Fabergé and chairman of Unilever Export.{{cite web|url=http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/unilever-creates-lever-faberge-uk-consolidation/70321|title=Unilever creates Lever Faberge in UK consolidation|publisher=}} He has worked for Unilever in the UK, France, the United States, both in global and regional roles across general management and marketing.{{cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/people/keith-weed/|title=Keith Weed - World Economic Forum|publisher=}}
In 2012 he was global head of Home Care & Hygiene.{{cite web|url=http://www.intelligenthq.com/profiles/cmo-profile-keith-weed-unilever/|title=CMO Profile: Keith Weed Managing Marketing Strategy for Unilever|date=24 March 2012|publisher=}}
As Unilever's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Weed sat on Unilever's executive board with the Marketing, Communications and Sustainable Business teams reporting to him.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}
As CMCO, Weed pioneered new ways of integrating sustainability in business and led the creation of a "sustainable living plan".{{cite journal|url=https://hbr.org/2014/07/reinventing-the-chief-marketing-officer-an-interview-with-unilever-cmo-keith-weed|title=Harvard Business Review - Reinventing the Chief Marketing Officer|journal=Harvard Business Review |date=21 July 2014 |last1=Morse |first1=Gardiner }} This plan sought to grow Unilever, reduce its environmental footprint, and increase its social impact.{{Cite web|url=https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/our-strategy/|title=Our strategy for sustainable growth|website=Unilever global company website}} He also dissolved Unilever's corporate social responsibility department{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-type-csr-why-i-disbanded-unilevers-department-nutshell-keith-weed|title=A new type of CSR: Why I disbanded Unilever's CSR department, in a nutshell.|website=www.linkedin.com}} and integrated sustainable growth throughout Unilever's business. In 2014, Weed gave a TED Talk about the global issue of climate change and argued that sustainability and economic growth can go hand-in-hand.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_weed_the_power_of_transformative_collaboration|title=The power of transformative collaboration|first=Keith|last=Weed|date=30 July 2018 |via=www.ted.com}}
Weed also directed advances in digital{{cite web|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/unilevers-keith-weed-put-price-trust-tech-giants/1456432|title=Unilever's Keith Weed to put price on trust for tech giants|author=|date=|website=www.campaignlive.co.uk|accessdate=9 May 2019}} and influencer marketing{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/06/25/influencer-marketing-fraud-how-big-problem-it|title=Influencer marketing fraud – how big a problem is it?|author=|date=|website=The Drum|accessdate=9 May 2019}} 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.{{cite news |last=Sweney |first=Mark |date=22 June 2016 |title=Unilever vows to drop sexist stereotypes from its ads |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/22/unilever-sexist-stereotypes-ads-sunsilk-dove-lynx |accessdate=9 May 2019 |publisher= |via=www.theguardian.com}} As a part of this initiative, he architected the Unstereotype Alliance.{{cite web|url=http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/6/press-release-unstereotype-alliance-first-anniversary|title=Unstereotype Alliance celebrates its first anniversary and launches new report 'Unstereotype: Beyond Gender. The Invisible Stereotypes'|author=|date=20 June 2018|website=UN Women|accessdate=9 May 2019}} 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 named LinkedIn's second most influential writer on the platform in the UK.{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-voices-2016-15-must-know-writers-uk-katie-carroll|title=LinkedIn Top Voices 2016: The 15 must-know writers in the U.K.|author=|date=|website=www.linkedin.com|accessdate=9 May 2019}} In 2017, he was voted as the Marketers' Marketer of the Year by Campaign readers.{{cite web|url=http://marketors.org/liveryman-keith-weed-honoured-marketers-marketer-campaigns-power-100/|title=Liveryman Keith Weed honoured as Marketers' Marketer in Campaign's Power 100|date=9 March 2007|website=www.Marketors.org|last1=Garland Worthington|first1=Sue|accessdate=13 July 2017}} He was also voted Global Marketer of the Year 2017 by the World Federation of Advertisers.{{cite web|url=https://www.wfanet.org/globalmarketeroftheyear/|title=Global Marketer of the Year 2018|author=|date=|website=WFA|accessdate=9 May 2019}} Additionally, Weed was named the World's Most Influential CMO in 2017 and 2018 by Forbes.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2017/06/22/the-worlds-most-influential-cmos-2017/#7f0b93307f91|title=The World's Most Influential CMOs 2017|last=Rooney|first=Jennifer|work=Forbes|access-date=2017-07-13}}{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2018/06/21/the-worlds-most-influential-cmos-2018/|title=The World's Most Influential CMOs 2018|first=Jenny|last=Rooney|date=|website=Forbes|accessdate=9 May 2019}} In 2018, Weed also received The Drum's Lifetime Achievement Award{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/05/14/unilevers-chief-marketing-comms-officer-keith-weed-receive-the-drums-lifetime|title=Unilever's chief marketing & comms officer, Keith Weed to receive The Drum's Lifetime Achievement Award|author=|date=|website=The Drum|accessdate=9 May 2019}} and featured in the Top 50 Financial Times HERoes list as a Champion of Women in Business.{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4bd11478-baac-11e8-8dfd-2f1cbc7ee27c|title=HERoes: champions of women in business|author=|date=20 September 2018|website=Financial Times|accessdate=9 May 2019}}
Outside Unilever, Weed worked as the president of the Advertising Association,{{Cite web|url=https://adassoc.org.uk/resource/advertising-association-names-unilever-chief-marketing-and-communications-officer-keith-weed-as-president/|title=Advertising Association names Unilever chief marketing and communications officer Keith Weed as President}} a fellow of The Marketing Society, of which he was president from 2003 to 2006. He was a non-executive director of Sun Products Corporation from 2008 to 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/people/17216787-keith-weed|title=Keith Weed, Unilever NV: Profile & Biography|website=Bloomberg News |publisher=}}
Current positions
In 2019, Weed took up a non-executive director role at WPP plc.{{Cite web |last=Capes |first=Marie |date=18 September 2019 |title=WWP - WWP appoints Keith Weed to the board |url=https://www.wpp.com/news/2019/09/wpp-appoints-keith-weed-to-the-board |access-date=7 November 2023 |website=WPP company website}}
In 2020, he was named President and Chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society
{{Cite web|url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/about-the-rhs/who-we-are/rhs-council|title=RHS Council |publisher=RHS}} and joined the board of Sainsbury's as a non-executive director.{{Cite web |title=Our management |url=https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/about-us/our-management |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=www.about.sainsburys.co.uk |language=en}}
Weed was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours list for services to the advertising and marketing industry.{{London Gazette|issue=63218|supp=y|page=N9|date=31 December 2020}}
In 2021 he became a trustee of the Leverhulme Trust.{{Cite web |title=The Trust Board {{!}} The Leverhulme Trust |url=https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/trust-board |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.leverhulme.ac.uk}}
In 2022 he was appointed Chair of the UK Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance.{{Cite web |title=Keith Weed urges marketers to stick by diverse ads but 65% fear they're getting it 'wrong' |url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/05/24/keith-weed-urges-marketers-stick-diverse-ads-65-fear-they-re-getting-it-wrong |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=The Drum}}
In 2025, Weed was recognised in the Institute of Practioners in Advertising (IPA) Honours List, receiving an Honourary Fellowship.{{Cite web |title=IPA {{!}} About the IPA |url=https://ipa.co.uk/about/about-the-ipa/ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=ipa.co.uk}}
He is also currently chairman of Business in the Community International, a board of trustees director for Business in the Community,{{cite web |title=BITC Our Board and Governance |url=http://www.bitc.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-board-and-governance |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522181425/http://www.bitc.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-board-and-governance |archive-date=22 May 2017 |access-date=18 May 2017 |publisher=}} a board director of the [https://www.effie.org/worldwide/about Effies].,{{Cite web |title=Effie |url=https://www.effie.org/worldwide/directors |access-date=2017-07-13 |website=www.effie.org}} a trustee of Grange Park Opera{{Cite web |title=Staff |url=https://grangeparkopera.co.uk/staff/ |website=Grange Park Opera}} and is a fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.