London, United Kingdom, August 2025 — Nicola Wells has been appointed as Head of Reward Architecture & Base Pay at Unilever. In this new leadership role, she will design and drive Unilever’s global reward architecture, aligning base pay frameworks and policies to support the company’s purpose-led growth and people-first strategy.
Nicola has been with Unilever for over 18 years, holding a series of senior roles in reward leadership. Most recently, she served as Head of Europe, MET and Personal Care Reward and Lead on Reward Process & Technology, where she oversaw reward strategies across multiple regions and business categories while implementing innovative technologies to optimize reward processes.
Earlier, Nicola was Head of Europe Reward & Global Strategy, Technology Reward Director, where she led regional reward design while shaping global reward technology strategies. Prior to that, she spent more than 13 years as Global Reward Director, managing a wide range of initiatives including the global pay review, Workday implementation, executive compensation management, new reward policies, share programs, and total reward systems.
Before joining Unilever, Nicola held pivotal roles in reward and compensation at leading organizations. She was Reward & Performance Manager at QinetiQ, where she focused on performance-linked pay and job evaluation systems. Earlier, she served as a Compensation Consultant at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), specializing in compensation management and reward frameworks, and as HR Advisor – Reward at WS Atkins, where she began her career shaping reward policies and employee programs.
Nicola holds a Master’s degree in Personnel Management from Kingston University, adding academic depth to her extensive expertise in compensation, total rewards, and organizational design.
About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s most successful purpose-led businesses, known for brands that improve lives and communities globally. Its portfolio spans nutritionally balanced foods, indulgent ice creams, household care products, and personal care brands. With world-leading names such as Lipton, Knorr, Dove, Axe, Hellmann’s, Omo, Ben & Jerry’s, Dermalogica, and The Dollar Shave Club, Unilever continues to drive growth through innovation, sustainability, and its belief in business as a force for good.
Read Also : When HR “Produces Nothing”: A Response to Jennifer Sey’s Anti-HR Vision
The Fine Balance: Navigating Work, Life, and Mental Wellbeing
Mind the Leadership Gap – From Learning to Real-World Impact
How the Adecco Group is empowering its employees for the future of work
