The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Matt Gregory, EVP & Chief Customer Officer North America at Unilever.

Follow Matt on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-gregory-b702567

Follow Unilever online at: http://unilever.com

Matt answers these questions:

1. As Chief Customer Officer, what are your top priorities for Unilever's customer partnerships this year, and how have those priorities evolved from your previous roles?
2. Unilever spans many categories and channels. How do you balance a single, coherent customer strategy with the diverse needs of retailers, wholesalers, and direct-to-consumer partners? 
3. What makes for a truly effective retailer collaboration from a customer-first perspective? Can you share thoughts on what constitutes a partnership that delivered measurable value for both a CPG brand and retailer?  
4. How has Unilever adapted its customer strategy to omnichannel realities—store visits, digital marketplaces, and social commerce? What role do retailers play in orchestrating that journey?
5. In times of supply chain disruption, what are the key lessons for maintaining strong customer relationships, and how do you collaborate with retailers to mitigate risk for both sides?
6. When a brand is already as big and established as Dove, growth typically gets harder—not easier. Yet, Dove is experiencing approximately double-digit growth in the U.S. over the last year. What’s the unlock that allows brands like Dove to continue deepening relevance and sustaining that level of momentum?
7. What competencies and capabilities do you prioritize when building and leading a high-performance customer organization? How do you foster cross-functional collaboration with sales, marketing, and supply chain?
8. Looking ahead 3–5 years, what are the biggest shifts you anticipate in retailer-CPG partnerships, and where should brands and retailers collaborate most closely to win in the evolving landscape? 
9. You’ve had a career that spans GM roles and commercially focused leadership positions. What have you learned in your personal and professional history that you find yourself using most in your role today?
10. What’s something the industry is still doing today that you think we’ll look back on in five years and wonder, “why were we doing it that way?”
11. What excites you most about agentic AI and how it could reshape the shopping experience? And what, if anything, gives you pause?
12. If you could make one singular change to positively impact the CPG industry, what would it be and why?

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