Kees van der Graaf

In 2008, at the pinnacle of his career, Kees decided to take early retirement from consumer goods giant, Unilever. His career there spanned over 30 years, culminating as 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, in addition to spending time with his family, Kees’ top priority is to support the FSHD Foundation, which he and his wife Renée founded in the hopes of finding a cure for FSHD. Kees also spends a significant amount of time at IMD, where he was an Executive-in-Residence from 2008 until 2012. He serves on several boards, engages in public speaking, and through his consultancy – Los Gravos BV – advises organizations, including many international fast-moving consumer goods firms on complexity management. All of Kees’ activities are aimed at raising funds for FSHD Research.