Keith Weed CBE currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Sainsbury’s plc and WPP plc. He is also the President of the Royal Horticultural Society, the world’s leading gardening charity. In addition, Keith is a Trustee of Grange Park Opera, an advisor with AlixPartners and serves on the Leverhulme Trust Board. He is a Fellow of both The Marketing Society and Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Over the course of his career, Keith has championed new ways of integrating sustainability into business and building brands with purpose. He spent over 30 years at Unilever plc, where he served as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer from 2010 to 2019. In this role, he was a member of the Unilever Executive Board responsible for marketing, communications and sustainability.
During this time, Keith led the creation of the Unilever sustainable living plan and pioneered ways of integrating sustainability into the business as a key driver of growth. His responsibilities aligned with Unilever’s vision to grow the business while reducing its environmental footprint and increasing its positive social impact. Keith directed significant advances in digital and influencer marketing and technologies within Unilever and championed the 3Vs (viewability, verification and value) across the industry. He committed to tackling stereotypes (in gender and beyond) in advertising and is the architect behind the #Unstereotype Alliance, co-created with UN Women, bringing together over 1000 companies to remove the portrayal of unhelpful stereotypes from their advertising.
He was awarded a CBE for services to the advertising and marketing industry in the New Years Honours 2021.
Keith joined the Business in the Community (BITC) Board as a Trustee in November 2014.