Olivier Garel, managing partner at Unilever Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.

Olivier Garel, managing partner at Unilever Ventures, the venture and growth capital arm of consumer goods firm Unilever, and an M&A professional, has led several transformative acquisition and divestment transactions in different parts of the world. During the past 20 years at Unilever, he has held senior positions in finance, strategy and business development.
[Unilever Ventures] has grown to be a leading investor in the beauty and wellness sector during the past decade under Garel’s guidance.

Garel manages Unilever Ventures’ investments in companies such as Be for Beauty, Pangaea, Kopari, Aera Technology, Runa, Mirakl, Thorne, Frank Body, FabFitFun, Helpling, Nue Co and Grove Collaborative. He also partners with a number of investment funds in Europe, Asia and North America.
UK-headquartered Unilever Ventures was one of the earliest corporate VC units in the consumer packaged goods sector, having been established in 2002. It has grown to be a leading investor in the beauty and wellness sector during the past decade under Garel’s guidance.
Unilever Ventures was recognised as the most active beauty investor of 2024 by beauty industry publisher BeautyMatter, after completing 13 investments last year. Many of these expanded the CVC unit’s footprint in South Asia, which has become a hotspot for emerging beauty brands and technologies.
Earlier this year, Unilever Ventures achieved a large exit for one of its Indian investments when cosmetics company Minimalist was acquired by Hindustan Unilever. Unilever Ventures had invested in Minimalist’s series A funding round in 2021.
Unilever Ventures manages a portfolio of 75 companies across three continents. It also has numerous partnerships with consumer, technology and deep tech investment funds.
The team seeks potential transformative trends and companies that can provide strategic value to Unilever, while achieving higher financial returns. The fund fosters collaborations with Unilever businesses and its portfolio companies, allowing founders to benefit from shared experiences and access a broad network of industry experts.
Unilever Ventures has offices in London and Mumbai and employs a team of 15.

The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.