Jules studied Finance & Investments at the University of Rotterdam. After doing an internship at Unilever, he began the UFLP for Finance. He can fully leverage his passion for food and finance in his role as Finance Business Partner for the Baking Cooking & Spreads (BCS) category.
Can you describe a project you worked on recently?
Working in Finance, I am responsible for drafting the forecast for my entire P&L on a monthly basis, together with my business team. I am fully responsible for the entire profit and loss accounts up to core operating margin in my business unit, Baking Cooking & Spreads.
In this role, I work on different projects, for example: the launch of our 100% plant-based innovation for the brand, Becel. During this project, I was owner of the budget and needed to ensure we could reach our targets, negotiate investments and conduct a campaign. The ultimate goal of this project was to drive an innovation that is more relevant to the consumer.
We launched a more sustainable product that is vegetable based. The project was a success and we even managed to run an additional campaign subsequent to the first one.
What was your role and what was the greatest challenge you faced in this project?
When I worked on the launch of the 100% plant-based innovation, I had to ensure that my work was completely accurate so I could plan my activities accordingly. Doing this allowed me to free up resources to invest in other projects. Next to this, I needed to present my work to the board on a monthly basis.
At first, it was quite challenging to present to the leaders of the company, but now I am used to it and see it as part of my job.
What impact did the project have?
The 100% plant-based innovation for the brand, Becel that we created is in line with the needs of our consumers. It also goes straight to the heart of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. I was able to manage the impact of additional resources and together with the business team, was able to launch our innovation.
What have you learned?
It is always great to work with senior leaders. It gave me insights on a macro level that I managed to translate into micro level innovations and promotions.
But what I learned the most is that the consumer always comes first. If you do this, your chances of success are much higher.
