For Mechell, 'purpose' is the key to success in life and in business.
Unilever Vice President of HR Africa Mechell Chetty has been nominated for the inaugural CHRO Awards, which will be taking place on 27 November 2019.
Since joining Unilever in 1999, Mechell Chetty has gained experience in a broad spectrum of HR practices. She has gone from being a National Learning Manager to the HR Director for the company’s AMET (Africa, Middle East and Turkey) region, where she managed a large-scale restructuring. She was also the HR Director for the supply chain, which included factories in South Africa; and HR Director for the sales team.
In a recent CHRO interview, Mechell spoke about purpose as being key to success in life and in business. She said that she discovered her own purpose of ‘Unlocking Dignity for Africans by mobilising our voice for change,” which is what guides her every decision, as she works towards building African leaders. It is also one of the main reasons for remaining in the organisation for more than 20 years.
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And, while not every Unilever employee is able to fully articulate their purpose into a slogan, the goal is to help them get as close to that point as possible.
“Purpose is everything, not just in business, but in life. It is bigger than KPIs, targets and goals because, without it, you’ll never unlock your true potential,” says Mechell.
Over the coming month, CHROs and HR directors nominated for the CHRO Awards will be sharing some of their triumphs, accolades and challenges during gruelling two-hour interviews.
Unilever is a Dutch-British transnational consumer goods company co-headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands and London, United Kingdom. Its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. With more than 400 brands focused on health and wellbeing, 2.5 billion people use Unilever products on any given day, according to the company's website.
