Niall FitzGerald

Niall Fitzgerald is CEO of Unilever. FitzGerald is one of the UK’s most influential businessmen, with many friends in the political arena. He is on Tony Blair’s side in the promotion of the Euro, ‘free trade’, biotechnology and GM food. FitzGerald recently (June 2002) expressed his support for the Prime Minister’s speech on science. In addition, FitzGerald is busy promoting Unilever’s green credentials. He is proud to say that Unilever is a member of the ethical business stock index, the FTSE 4 Good.

In 2002, FitzGerald co-chaired the annual Davos economic summit, which took place in New York. FitzGerald can be considered one of the fiercest defenders of capitalism, claiming ‘more capitalism, not less’ is the answer to global problems such as widespread poverty. He is also at the forefront in preaching corporate social responsibilty. This new hype among multinationals covers up corporate misdeeds and, equally important, the fundamental problems associated with corporate power. FitzGerald is also non-executive director of Merck & Co (one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies) and Ericsson (one of the world’s biggest suppliers in telecommunications, Ericsson is taking the lead in the expansion of mobile infrastructure, including GSM’s).

Niall FitzGerald, CEO of Unilever, the UK's largest advertiser with an annual spend of nearly a quarter of a billion pounds, accepted the Advertising Association's invitation to become President of the AA as of 22 May 2000. He took over the post from the incumbent, Sir George Bull, Chairman of Sainsbury plc, who has held the office since 1996. The Advertising Association is a federation of 26 trade associations and professional bodies representing advertisers, agencies, the media and support services. It is the only body, which speaks for all sides of an industry currently worth over £17 billion per annum.

Unilever chairman Niall FitzGerald has recently been named as the most powerful marketer in the UK (May 2001). FitzGerald retains the number one spot in ‘Power 100 list’, now in its second year. Power 100 ranks the most influential people in the industry by criteria such as spending power, personality, brand strength and contracts [23].

According to annual reports and Bloomberg data, salaries for the highest paid executives at Britain’s 30 biggest companies rose 67% over the past year to a medium of £1,2 million. Unilever CEO FitzGerald received a 15% increase in salary and bonus in 2000, while net income of the company fell 60%. FitzGerald’s total ‘compensation’ was £1,5 million [24]. The Unilever annual report, published 28 March 2002, showed that FitzGerald was paid £1.9m after a £955,000 performance-related bonus. This figure excludes any gains made on options on shares exercised during the year and any contributions to his pension funds.

More information about FitzGerald can be found in Magazine Issue 9: Corporate Man / Niall FitzGerald (He has donated to building cooperation and peace in Northern Ireland, and has run the London Marathon for charity... Now he is a corporate executive intent on maximising profits at any cost) ^[1].

Notes

1. ^ http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/magazine/issue9/cw9cm2.html (Sept. 2001) (source: Corporate Watch, date viewed: 20/9/01)