The Defining Moments: What Every Leader Should Know about Balancing Life

"Defining Moments is a deeply honest, personal and at times moving account of one man's voyage of self-discovery. Through a series of "defining moments", Kees shows how personal crises and professional challenges can not only be overcome but can also be used to help give greater purpose and meaning to life - to help make the individual stronger, the family more cohesive and the organization more united." Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever

In 2008, at the pinnacle of his career, Kees van der Graaf decided to take early retirement from consumer goods giant Unilever. Kees's career at Unilever spanned more than 30 years and culminated with him becoming the president of Europe and a member of the Board and Executive Committee. During his final years at Unilever, he completely overhauled the European business and brought it back to growth.

Since retiring, Kees focuses his time on a number of activities that he views as priorities. In addition to spending time with his family, his top priority is to participate in activities that support the FSHD Foundation, which he and his wife Renée founded in the hopes of finding a cure for FSHD - a disease with which his son Bart is afflicted. Kees also spends a significant amount of time at IMD, where he is an Executive-in-Residence and Co-Director of the IMD Global CEO Center - Leading in a Connected Future. Additionally, he serves on a number of business and societal boards and has his own consultancy - Los Gravos BV - through which he advises companies and institutions. In addition to delivering several public speeches, Kees has advised a number of international fast-moving consumer goods firms on complexity management. All of Kees's activities are aimed at raising funds for the FSHD Foundation.