02 December 2005
Rudy Markham, Chief Financial Officer, Unilever plc, has been awarded the CIMA Lifetime Contribution to Management Accounting Award at the 2005 CIMA Financial Management Awards, presented in association with the Financial Times. The award recognises the contribution a CIMA member has made by delivering the benefits of management accounting to their organisation.
Accepting his award, Rudy Markham said:
'This is an l honour that I accept on behalf of my Company, where the finance professionals in my team across the world deliver their contribution to business performance through excellence in business partnership ' a combination of financial and management accounting expertise, tailored to the specifics of Unilever operations around the world. I and many of my colleagues have benefited from the rigour of the training for qualification of a CIMA. This is an important statement of professional competence. I would like to accept this award in recognition of that deeply embedded culture of teamwork that has enabled myself and other colleagues to achieve the success we enjoy today.'
Ian Christison, CIMA President said:
'Rudy is a role model to all CIMA members and students demonstrating that the CIMA qualification is the passport to a career in senior management. Rudy Markham has been an exemplary management accountant at the heart of a sales and marketing led business, having spent the majority of his career in senior strategy, operations and technology roles, rather than finance.
He continued:
'CIMA has a long and proud association with Unilever. Lord Leverhulme, the grandson of William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros became the first President of CIMA in 1919. He was unsatisfied with traditional accounting methods used at the time of the First World War and saw considerable benefit in a new institute focused on the innovative concept of cost accounting. That Institute of Cost and Works Accountants grew to become CIMA and Lever Bros grew to become Unilever. As the world economy has expanded so has Unilever and CIMA, entering new markets and developing new products. Unilever is now one of the world's biggest companies and CIMA is the only major international accountancy qualification with a sole focus on business. Unilever currently employs over 360 CIMA members and students.'
Since his career began as a commercial management trainee at Unilever in 1968, Rudy Markham has worked his way through the ranks to his present role as CFO of an organisation that spans 150 countries with a turnover of over 48 billion US dollars. Unilever has produced some of the most successful management accountants who have then gone on to play a leading role in some of the world's most successful organisations.
Rudy Markham has been in commercial functions in a number of European countries and enjoyed roles as diverse as chairman and CEO of Australia and New Zealand, CEO of operations in Japan and Finance director of Unilever with responsibility for all IT. He briefly headed up the organisation review before becoming business group president of North East Asia Group, having responsibility for China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. In 1998 he was elected to the Boards of Unilever PLC and N.V. and appointed strategy and technology director. He rose to become the Finance Director of Unilever in 2000 and in April 2005, he joined the Unilever executive (UEX) and became Chief Financial Officer.
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For further information, please contact:
Lottie Muir
Press & PR Manager, CIMA
+44 (0) 20 8849 2407
Lottie.muir@cimaglobal.com
Notes to editors
- CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is the only international accountancy body with a sole focus on business. It is a world leading professional institute that offers an internationally recognised qualification in management accountancy, focusing on accounting in business, in both the private and public sectors. It is the voice of over 85,000 students and 65,000 members in 158 countries. CIMA is responsible for the education and training of management accountants who work in industry, commerce and not-for-profit and has more members in the public sector than any other UK based body. CIMA prides itself on the commercial relevance of its syllabus, which is in tune with the activities of high performance organisations, and evolves continually to reflect the latest developments in global business. It is committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards of members and students, and to maintaining public confidence in management accountancy. For more information about CIMA, please visit http://www.cimaglobal.com/
02 December 2005051202