Gail Klintworth

Gail is currently the Business Transformation Director at the Business and Sustainable Development Commission. Before joining the commission, Gail worked at Old Mutual PLC as Group Customer Director and Responsible Business Lead. Prior to this Gail worked for Unilever for 28 years, most recently as Chief Sustainability Officer. In this role Gail was responsible for driving the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan which aims to double Unilever’s business turnover whilst reducing its environmental impact and increasing its positive social impact.

Gail has held a number of positions at Unilever including Executive Vice President for the Savoury Category, Vice President of two Laundry brands and CEO of Unilever South Africa. During her time as CEO she united all Unilever business units into one company and further entrenched its position as one of the most competitive fast moving consumer goods companies in South Africa.

Gail is committed to building sustainable businesses and making a significant contribution to positive socio-economic development through business. She has served as a director on a number of bodies which have sought to build the conditions for sustainable growth including Business Leadership South Africa, the Business Trust in South Africa, and FoodBank SA. She has also served as a board member of the Leadership Foundation of the International Women’s Foundation which seeks to promote women’s leadership globally. As a full- time partner of SYSTEMIQ, she currently is leading the work for various industries and is supporting the operations of SYSTEMIQ.