M&A professional, Olivier has led a large number of transformative acquisition and divestment transactions for Unilever in different parts of the world. Over the last 20 years in Unilever, he has held senior positions in finance, strategy and business development. Olivier leads Unilever Ventures Investment Committee and manages relationships with a number of Corporate and Venture Capital funds and Private Equity funds around the world. He is currently a Board Director of Iluminage Beauty, Yummly, REN and ioma.

John has been the MD of Unilever Ventures direct investment fund for the past 14 years, during which time he has sat on thirteen Boards, four as Chair. Currently he is also Non Exec Chair of; The Co-Op's Federal Retail Services Co which co-ordinates UK retail activities, Innovate UK’s Emerging Technologies & Industries Advisory Board and The Big Innovation Centre Governing Board. He is also a Non Exec Director of The Stobart Group PLC.

Andrew joined Unilever as a marketing trainee in 1985 after studying Biochemistry at Cambridge University and has a general management, marketing and finance background. Andrew worked on setting up Unilever’s Corporate Venture Group prior to the establishment of Unilever Ventures, which he co-founded in 2002. His primary focus is investment in Personal Care. He is currently on the Boards of iluminage Beauty, Arecor and VHsquared and was on the Board of BAC, CyDen and Pharmakodex before Unilever Ventures successful exit from these companies.

Jan joined Unilever Ventures as a founder member in 2002. Jan leads the Digital Practice in Europe from the London office for investments in digital marketing, digital media, consumer insight, and eCommerce. Jan started his career in marketing 1989 and had over 12 years of marketing and sales experience with Unilever. He had a number of international marketing roles including European Marketing Manager for Persil and regional Marketing Manager for Oral Care for the Middle East and North Africa based in Dubai. Jan has a degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Cambridge University. Jan is currently a director on the board of a number of portfolio companies including Brandtone, Froosh, and Big Sync Music.

Rachel brings over 20 years’ experience in senior management roles in an early stage beauty business, venture capital investing and corporate finance. After 10 years in Finance, in 2002 Rachel joined Unilever Ventures and spent 5 years working on early stage, cross sector deals. From 2007 to 2013, Rachel held a number of general management positions including Group CEO of a beauty company with operations in UK, Spain and Canada. Rachel specialises in Personal Care. Rachel holds a first class honours degree from the University of Sheffield. She is currently an Observer on the Board of Iluminage Beauty and a Board Director of REN.

Anna joined Unilever Ventures in 2003 after close to 10 years in financial advisory and then venture capital investment. Anna works on new investment opportunities, now primarily in Personal Care, the structuring and execution of deals as well as the Board level management of portfolio companies. Anna is Swedish; she lived 12 years in France and holds a degree from the French graduate school of management ESSEC. She previously worked from investment to exit on V Water, CyDen, PharmaKodex and BAC as well as UV’s investments in iluminage, Froosh, VHsquared and several technology spin-outs. She is currently a Board director of Chemsenti, Catexel and Cequus.

Richard Lagnado joined Unilever Ventures in September 2005. He is currently seconded to Langholm Capital, one of the p.e. funds that Unilever Ventures has invested in.

Richard brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, general management and new business development, gained through local, regional and global leadership roles within Unilever.

Richard’s experience spans several product categories (personal care, frozen foods, ice cream, industrial detergents), and he has lived and worked in a wide range of geographies(Brazil, UK, Argentina, USA).

Recent roles include Vice President of Strategy for Unilever Home and Personal Care, and Managing Director, Unilever Frozen Foods Argentina. Prior to that, Richard led a major global R&D initiative in IceCream.

Born in Brazil, he has an Industrial Engineering Degree from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and an MBA from INSEAD.

Pawan has over 12 years of diversified industry experience in FMCG & Telecom working with companies like Unilever, Britannia and Nokia. Pawan joined Unilever in 2008 and has held various positions in Finance. Most recently, he served as Global Finance Director for the Water Category. Pawan has experience in M&A and played a key role in Unilever’s 2014 investment in a Chinese Water Purifier Company - Qinyuan. In April 2015, he was appointed Investment Director-Asia for Unilever Ventures where he is responsible for UV’s operations in Asia, including fund relationships. Pawan is a certified Chartered Accountant.

Stephen joined Unilever Ventures in 2006 from Burlington Consultants, a strategy consultancy which was acquired in 2005 by Deloitte & Touche LLP. At Burlington / Deloitte, he worked on numerous commercial due diligence assignments for private equity clients and debt providers as well as advising corporate clients on a variety of strategic business issues across multiple sectors. Stephen has been involved in UV’s investments into Froosh (smoothies), CyDen (beauty devices, since exited), P2i (smart coatings), SNOG Pure Frozen Yogurt (frozen yogurt) and Big Sync Music (music licensing). Stephen holds a first class honours degree in Business from the University of Bath and is a Director of Froosh, SNOG Pure Frozen Yogurt and Big Sync Music.

Ian joined Unilever Ventures in 2010 and focuses on digital technology deals. He is a Board director of Voltea and CDDM Tech, and he previously worked on our exit of Rahu Catalytics, as well as UV’s investments in Brandtone, VH2, iluminage, Syneron Beauty and CDDM Tech. Prior to joining Unilever Ventures, Ian was a strategy consultant with L.E.K. in London and Melbourne. He has a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Cambridge University and an MSci in Chemistry from Bristol University.

Amelia joined Unilever Ventures’ Investment Team in 2015, with a primary focus on digital technology deals. Prior to this Amelia was a Strategy Consultant within the M&A practice at Accenture. Amelia has experience in transactions across Technology and Consumer Goods, and led due diligence activities for Accenture’s UK digital innovation fund. Amelia has a BA Hons degree in Philosophy from Durham University, and further training includes CIMA, CFA IMC, and an MBA Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development module. Amelia also set-up, and ran a domestic services business, and is the founder of a non-profit organisation focusing on women in business.

Financial business partner on European and US direct investments; responsible for portfolio performance processes as well as providing transactional support on specific deals. Interfaces with Unilever Group on accounting and reporting impact of these investments. Is FCA Compliance and Money Laundering Officer and is responsible for UK and US office accounting operations. Prior to joining Unilever Ventures in 2006, Paul had 13 years of experience supporting Unilever FMCG operations in Europe. His roles have ranged from sales and marketing support, category finance manager, financial accounting operations, company planning and analysis to internal audit and business systems implementation.

Jay Miranda joined Unilever Ventures in 2004 and is the Financial Controller responsible for the evaluation and ongoing financial management of Fund investments and Co-investments across Europe, the US and Asia. She has over 20 years’ experience in financial, commercial and manufacturing accounting and her category experience has been all within Foods and has focused on the area of Spreads and Dressings. During her time in Ventures, Jay has been extensively involved in exploring and entering new markets.

Jay graduated in 1990 with a degree in Accounting and Finance from The University of Birmingham and prior to joining Unilever; Jay trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers gaining 4 years of extensive audit experience in manufacturing and the foods sector.

Amanda joined Unilever Ventures in 2011 having previously held a role as tax manager for Unilever’s UK operating companies. Her role is to provide tax support for all Ventures transactions. She acts as a single global point of contact on all tax issues, coordinating tax advice from various jurisdictions. Amanda advises on tax structuring within the framework of Unilever’s Tax Principles. During her time at Ventures, she has been involved in exploring and setting up new structures to enable Ventures to enter new markets and also in various disposals both intra-group and to external buyers.

Amanda qualified as a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser with Ernst & Young in Manchester and has over 10 years’ experience working in tax in various roles both in practice and more recently as an in-house tax adviser.

Geoff joined Unilever Ventures in 2013. His primary role is to provide financial support to the UV team and portfolio companies.

Geoff acts as first contact point for management teams on financial issues and processes and provides analysis on portfolio performance. Geoff is also responsible for quarterly Unilever group reporting process and day to day accounting operations and control.

His prior experience includes both Audit and Restructuring roles at Deloitte, and holds a BA in Accounting and Management from the University of London.

Lana joined Unilever Ventures in 2015 as PA to the Head and Directors of Unilever Ventures. Prior to this Lana was a Global Commercial Assistant within the Oncology and Brillinta team at AstraZeneca. Lana is also responsible for the firm’s day to day operations, including network infrastructure, telecommunications and technical support. She acts as a contact for 3rd parties on office services and property issues, as well as being the front of house for the office, and supporting the rest of the UV team. Lana has a Diploma in Business & Secretarial Management and holds a BAppSocSci in Counselling and Communication.