Public Profile

Jacques Ferrière, a French national is a graduate of HEC, Paris (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales) and a Harvard Business School AMP alumnus. He joined Unilever in 1974 and occupied various positions in the marketing management of Unilever brands in France, Australia, Portugal and Turkey.

As company Chairman & CEO, he set up and led Unilever Vietnam (1993-1999), then led Unilever Turkey and Central Asia (2000-2002). In 2003 he joined the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as Senior Advisor, responsible for the Agency's Business Linkages programme focusing on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The programme is now running in North-Eastern Brazil, Uganda, Tanzania and Vietnam (pilot), with new projects being developed in Africa and Latin America.

Since 2007, he shares his time between Europe as consultant for the UNCTAD "Business Linkages" programme, teaching management in Paris, and doing business consultancy work in Vietnam.

In addition to General Management of multi-country / multi-category companies, his experience includes the setting up and management of Joint Venture companies; change management programmes; company restructuring; business strategy development and implementation; supplier development programmes; SME development programmes in LDCs.