He's also been a vocal advocate for more accountability from digital-media players, though unlike his Procter & Gamble Co. counterpart, Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard, he has shied away from immediate threats to pull back spending on platforms that don't provide third-party audience verification. And he's said Unilever avoided many of the worst brand-safety and media quality issues through more careful monitoring of its media buys. Weed has been in lockstep with Polman as the latter made environmental sustainability a central issue, and had leadership of the sustainability effort as part of his remit – a rarity for chief marketers. With reported global brand investment of more than $9 billion, Unilever is the No. 4 global advertiser, according to the Ad Age Datacenter. "I have been privileged to lead some of the best marketing, sustainability and communication teams in the world," Weed said in a statement.