From a plant biologist's point of view, the opportunity to move seamlessly from field to factory to fork within a single organisation is incredibly motivating. Integrating fundamental plant biology with crop production, factory processing and product development and seeing 'your' products on the supermarket shelf is the ultimate in applied plant biology!
I was recruited into Unilever's plant science unit in 1997 as a plant molecular biologist and for five years worked on projects using biotechnology techniques to improve the quality of plants. Our team made significant advances in the area of engineering plant metabolism, leading to several patent filings and exposure in scientific publications. More recently, I transferred to the life science group where I have a dual function - working with the Knorr development team and managing raw material design projects for the Tomato Global Technology Centre in Brazil.
Working in life science offers a unique perspective on Unilever’s business and the role of technology within it. There is no such thing as a typical day!
