The first time I became aware of Unilever was about 15 years ago as a student. I remember trying Lux shampoo and being amazed at the benefits it delivered – much better than any previous products I had used. It made me realise there is actually a lot of technology going into hair-care products, and that's what inspired me to apply to Unilever Research.
Now that I have been here for a while, I can say my initial excitement still remains, of delivering a breakthrough technology to the business that will help to meet a consumer need. I firmly believe that advanced technology helps strengthen consumers' loyalty to our brands.
Another attractive aspect of the company for me is the people and the work environment. People are open and warm-hearted and the atmosphere is quite relaxed, but at the same time they are diligent workers and hold themselves accountable. They efficiently deliver high-quality results, and there is a good team spirit.
I have two roles basically – science and management. I manage the nanotechnology group, exploring new applications for thousands of materials and technologies that already exist. I have the challenge of deciding the group focus, for example, how we can increase the efficiency of actives so we can use less of them. In addition, I'm responsible for managing the 15 group members and creating an environment that stimulates continuous learning, so that we may continue to deliver world-class results.
We also like to try to benefit the local business. Last year I did some work on improving a local brand, after market research revealed consumers did not like the appearance. Working in close collaboration with brand building and marketing, we solved the problem after three months' hard work. Now we’re seeing consumers responding very positively to the improvement, and that's rewarding.
