Before Michael Polk became a CEO, he spent years learning the consumer goods industry from the inside at two of its largest players: Kraft Foods and Unilever. Those experiences shaped the leadership style he later brought to Newell Rubbermaid and, after retirement, to Implus LLC.

Polk arrived at Kraft following his MBA at Harvard Business School, entering through brand management and building toward general management. He led the Post Cereals division in North America, managed Kraft Foods International’s Asia Pacific region, and after Kraft’s acquisition of Nabisco, took on the integration of that business into the broader company. It was complex, high-stakes work that gave him hands-on exposure to large-scale portfolio management.

Leading the Americas at Unilever

In 2003, Unilever recruited Michael Polk Newell Brands to lead its US Foods business. Three years later he was promoted to president of the Americas, overseeing all of Unilever’s brands and operations across North America and Latin America through 2010. He implemented the ‘One Unilever’ operating model, which tightened commercial execution and improved margins while also accelerating growth.

From 2010 to 2011, Polk moved to Unilever’s global headquarters in London as president of Global Food, Home and Personal Care, where he oversaw category strategies and innovation across the company’s entire portfolio.

From Unilever to Newell and Beyond

That global experience set the stage for his appointment as CEO of Newell Rubbermaid in 2011. Over eight years, he grew the company’s net sales from $5.4 billion to $9.4 billion and completed 35 acquisitions and divestitures. Michael Polk has credited the accumulation of each career chapter from the Pennsylvania factory floor to the London executive suite with making him a stronger executive. After Newell, he returned to operational leadership at Implus LLC as part of his role with Berkshire Partners. Refer to this article for related information.

Learn more about Michael Polk Newell Brands on https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-polk-7224228