Unilever opens €44m ($56m) Singapore leadership centre

The company has recently opened 50 new factories and warehouse facilities in an effort to comply with its sustainable growth ambitions, the latest being the Four Acres plant in Singapore which the brand says will be able to raise the training capacity to 2,800 people yearly across both of its campus locations.

The goal of the development is similar to that of Four Acres London, a campus that houses talent and trains them to be top leaders in the company, however in this instance the brands says the leaders-to-be will become more attuned to the environment and the high-growth developing and emerging markets.

“Four Acres London has set the standard in leadership development since it was established over 60 years ago, underpinning our commitment to nurturing world class talent. The launch of Four Acres Singapore will continue this tradition​.”

Singapore's first corporate university of this scale​

Unilever chief executive officer Paul Polman opened the facility complete with amphitheatre and traditional Singaporean on-site accommodations, alongside Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who noted that the campus was the country's first corporate university campus of this scale.

“The launch of Four Acres Singapore provides the opportunity to take leadership development – in the service of both Unilever and the communities where we operate – to a whole new level. ​Unilever recognizes that continuing commitment through a strong programme of investment must however, be coupled with a corresponding growth in sustainable supply chain capacity.”​ 

Polman, who flew in for the event, added that Singapore is the logical choice for Unilever’s new learning and talent development centre due to its key operational role in the market and its place as the company’s global operations office. 

“Singapore sits at the nexus of the developed and emerging world. It is a leading hub for leadership and innovation, and a gateway to the rapidly growing Asian economies. When our future leaders come here, whichever part of the world they come from, we know they will gain exposure to new insights and perspectives.” ​ ​