Philippe Hostaléry Joins Unilever as President of TIGI’s Global Business

Englewood Cliffs, NJ – January 12, 2010 – Unilever announced today that Philippe Hostaléry will join Unilever as President of TIGI’s global business, effective January 19.  He succeeds Thomas Reasonover, who has announced his plans to retire from the business, after having completed the successful introduction of TIGI into the Unilever family.

“Philippe has extensive personal care experience in both North America and Europe and his knowledge of the professional haircare industry will be a valuable asset to the business,” said Michael B. Polk, President Unilever Americas.  Hostaléry will report to Polk.

Most recently, Hostaléry was Group Vice President, Global Beauty Brands at Avon Products, responsible for developing and implementing long-term global beauty strategy, identifying key opportunities to strengthen the company’s market position.  Prior to this, he served as President & CEO of businesses at Wella Personal Care in North America and Wella Fragrances in Europe.  Hostaléry also held marketing leadership roles at Beiersfdorf and L’Oréal.  He is a business and marketing graduate of the European Business School (EBS).

In 2009, Unilever announced the acquisition of the global TIGI professional hair product business and its supporting advanced education academies to focus on personal care and higher growth areas by augmenting the company’s strong position in daily hair care and adding the salon brands to further build Unilever’s position in the hair category.  TIGI operates as a stand-alone global business unit within Unilever.

Thomas Reasonover served TIGI for 24 years.  “As President of TIGI, Thomas brought a unique combination of skills to the role, leveraging his 30 years of experience in the beauty industry as a hairstylist, financial expert and executive,” noted Polk.  Reasonover began his career with TONI&GUY in 1985, working as a hairdresser alongside Bruno Mascolo in the company’s first US salon in Dallas.  As a hairstylist since the mid-1970s, Reasonover, opened and managed numerous salons for TONI&GUY and in 1994 he became CFO, transitioning to Senior Vice President/COO in 1996 and President in 2002.

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About Unilever
Unilever’s mission is to add vitality to life.  We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.  Each day, around the world, consumers make 160 million decisions to purchase Unilever products. In the United States, the portfolio includes major brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann's, Klondike, Knorr, Lipton, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Suave, Sunsilk, TIGI and Vaseline.  All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.  Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs nearly 12,000 people in both the United States and Puerto Rico – generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2008.  For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com.

About TIGI
TIGI’s  major brands include Bed Head®, Catwalk® and S-Factor®. TIGI has operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Australia. For more information, visit www.tigihaircare.com.