Treschow to Succeed Burgmans as Unilever Chairman

12/01/07 Unilever has announced that Michael Treschow, one of Europe's leading business figures, will succeed Antony Burgmans as Chairman of Unilever NV and Unilever PLC at the Annual General Meeting in May 2007.

Mr Treschow will be the first person from outside Unilever to hold the office of Chairman and, following the restructuring of the Boards in recent years, will be the first independent, non-executive Chairman of the company.

Mr Treschow is currently the Chairman of both Ericsson and Electrolux, and a non-executive director of ABB Group. He has recently announced that he will stand down in April as Chairman of Electrolux. He is currently the Chairman of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise but will relinquish that position in May when his term expires. He is also a prominent member of both UNICE (the European Employers Federation), and the Transatlantic Business Dialogue.

As previously announced, Antony Burgmans will retire from Unilever at the 2007 AGMs after 35 years distinguished service. He joined the Board in 1991 and in 1999 he was appointed Executive Chairman of Unilever NV and Deputy Chairman of Unilever PLC. In 2005, following a major review of Unilever's governance arrangements, he was appointed the first non-executive Chairman of both parent companies.

Lord Simon, Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director said: "The Board of Unilever is delighted to make this appointment. The Nomination Committee conducted a thorough search. We deliberately set the bar high and I'm delighted our efforts have yielded such an excellent result."

Antony Burgmans said: "Michael Treschow is a businessman with a formidable track record gained in some of the world's most competitive consumer industries. He has already proved himself an effective Chairman and I have no doubt Unilever will benefit greatly from his knowledge and experience. His international reputation, his abiding interest in the development of international business together with his familiarity with cultural diversity, make him an irresistible choice to lead Unilever."

Michael Treschow said: "I am honoured to have been invited by the Board to become Unilever's Chairman and to help build on the transformation that the current management have wrought. It is a great business, with great brands and an unequalled global reach and Patrick Cescau and I are looking forward immensely to working together in the future."

Michael Treschow was born 1943 in Helsingborg, Sweden. He earned a Master of Science degree from the Institute of Technology in Lund, Sweden.

Michael Treschow has had a long and distinguished business career, including spells working in France and the US. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Ericsson. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Electrolux Group until April 2002, a position to which he was appointed in 1997. In May 2004 Mr Treschow became Chairman of the Board of AB Electrolux. He announced in December 2006 that he will not stand for re-election at the company's Annual General Meeting in April 2007. He is also a board member of ABB Group. In addition to Electrolux, Mr Treschow held executive positions at Atlas Copco, where he was chief executive for six years.

Mr Treschow has previously held non-executive Board positions at Investor AB, Atlas Copco AB, SKF AB, Saab Automobiles, and at Parker-Hannifin Corp.

Michael Treschow is also Chairman of the Board of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, a position from which he will stand down in May 2007.