Unilever’s Q3 proves you don’t need to choose.
Too often, AI becomes a distraction from the fundamental goal it’s there to serve: to build a stronger business.
Results-orientated
Unilever reported underlying sales growth of 5.2%, with 2.9% volume growth in Q3, upgrading their outlook after 9 months of strong performance.
AI has played a significant and appropriate role in this turnaround - from accelerating content creation 12x to screening 7,000 formulations, turning product briefs into draft prototypes, packaging, and fragrances overnight.
Yet, it's the ruthless prioritisation and focus that has ensured it delivers to the greatest strategic goal. CEO Fernando Fernadnez was described as “decisive, results-oriented approach and his ability to drive change at speed” by the Unilever Chairman last year. These are the most powerful traits every leadership team would benefit from.
Source: Unilever Q3 2026 Results Presentation 28th Oct 2026
My role at Unilever
I often say the pandemic provided a blueprint for transformation at pace. I was at Unilever in 2020 and moved into a digital commerce role as sales shifted online (prior to the pandemic, online contribution in Australia sat around 3%).
The surge in online traffic and sustained change in consumer behaviour required transforming in real-time. A great example of the motto ‘perform and transform’ in-action.
What’s paramount is understanding the numbers and where you can make the greatest impact. During the pandemic, that meant acting quickly on poor brand visibility online, activating category-wide growth initiatives and using results to forge strategic partnerships on the biggest grocery players.
Unilever brands were quickly growing ahead of each category and within a year, we were #1 for e-commerce in The Advantage Survey (TAG).
Source: Gemini Notebook Mind Map (used to drill into drivers of performance)
The ingredients required
Adapting processes whilst delivering results requires phenomenal team work. Change comes with challenge and at times, resistance. In my experience at Unilever and later at Diageo, upskilling teams is the quickest and most effective way to turn ambition into impact.
It’s why I always say a Digital or AI team can’t sit in a corner - results require scale.
However, a leadership team with absolute clarity is imperative. It’s easier to dispel resistance when the activity being driven at the front line mirrors precisely what teams hear from the top.
The CFO at Unilever recently talked of being ‘boringly consistent’. Transformation requires lots of boring but essential work. In the majority of AI projects I have worked on this year, operational excellence and building commercial acumen have emerged as focus areas.
AI can amplify the results. It can’t do the hard work for you.
Strategy to Results in 90-Days
That’s why I work with leadership teams in three steps: align on strategy, build AI fluency across the business and then get to work on AI priorities that can make an impact in 90-days.
Quick wins can be delivered whilst the ‘boring’ essentials required for a sustainable transformation are put in place.
My experience during the pandemic and every project since is that you can perform as you transform. Structure and discipline is rewarded with a stronger business and energised teams.
What’s stopping your organisation from delivering at pace?
