Maria Varsellona
Maria Varsellona was appointed Chief Legal Officer and Group Secretary of Unilever in April 2022.
Chief Legal Officer and Group Secretary
As a member of Unilever’s Leadership Executive Team Maria is responsible for the company’s Legal, Intellectual Property and Business Integrity functions.
Prior to joining Unilever, from 2019, Maria served as the Chief Legal Officer at ABB. As of April 2020, Maria also assumed the role of Company Secretary. ABB is a leading global technology company based in Switzerland with revenues of circa $26 billion in the fields of electrification, robotics, motion, and process automation. Maria was a member of the ABB Executive Committee working closely with the Board on strategic decision making. As a key business partner, she analysed all legal aspects of major matters including Intellectual Property and Business Integrity.
In July 2013 Maria joined Nokia Group, as Nokia Siemens Networks General Counsel. In May 2014, she was appointed as the Chief Legal Officer of Nokia. In this role Maria had full P&L responsibility for Nokia’s Intellectual Property Rights business, which generates a substantive part of the Nokia Group's profitability.
Maria served as the General Counsel at TetraPak from 2011 to 2013 and at Sidel from 2009 to 2011. Both TetraPak and Sidel belong to the Tetra Laval Group. From 2001 to 2009, Maria covered various senior global roles in the General Electric Oil & Gas legal department.
Born in Italy, Maria holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from The University of Palermo, Italy. She was admitted to practice as a lawyer in Italy in 1996 and as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2000.