Called "a champion of the multi-stakeholder model of capitalism, who dared [my italics] put environmental and ethical issues on the same footing as generating profits for shareholders" by the Financial Times, Polman was a highly visible C-suite driver of introducing sustainability into every aspect of the company's operations, from sourcing to packaging to products. But his legacy also includes an approach to the bottom line that deserves attention. When he took the helm in 2009, Unilever was stagnant in growth and losing market share. Polman's reaction to this situation in his first week on the job? To eliminate short-term quarterly reporting so that he could rebuild the company away from investor pressure. The bottom line as he leaves? "Unilever's total shareholder returns over the period were 282 percent with dividends reinvested, according to Bloomberg, versus 182 percent for Nestlé, or 131 percent for the FTSE index."