Interview: How the CIO of Unilever Delivers Business Empathy
Computer Weekly, Tuesday, June 30th, 2026
Unilever CIO Reema Jain says technology delivers impact when it scales from theory into practical business applications.
Reema Jain, Unilever's new CIO, believes technology creates the greatest value when it scales from isolated use cases to widespread implementation benefiting many stakeholders.
She highlights Project Shakti, which equips 200,000 female entrepreneurs in India with cloud-based inventory and sales tools, demonstrating digital-driven financial inclusion.
Her philosophy emphasizes falling in love with the problem, not the solution, and developing business empathy so technologists understand operational challenges. Jain advocates hands-on experimentation with emerging technologies over theoretical study and encourages calculated risks.
She advises CIOs to provide directional clarity even amid uncertainty, recognizing what is known today may be irrelevant tomorrow.