CEO Paul Polman loudly defends Unilever’s strategy at investor meeting
London — Unilever CEO Paul Polman, who has built his reputation on a softer approach to capitalism, showed he can get feisty, too. His combative side was on display at an investor meeting on Thursday in New Jersey, where the Dutchman found himself confronted with tough questions on the balance of cost savings, margin improvement and sales growth. Polman shot back, defending his approach and raising his voice in the process, according to a recording of the event. Polman said analysts were "pissing away" the possibility of higher shareholder returns by suggesting Unilever could spend more on growing its earnings through rising sales rather than through cutting costs. Asked by one analyst if Unilever might want to raise its brand-marketing spending to seek more revenue growth at the expense of a bit of margin, Polman took issue with what he called an implied assumption that the company’s brand spending was not competitive. "You’ve been telling us the margins were low for the first five...
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