This week, Sarah Britten chats to Marijn van Tiggelen, EVP, Unilever Africa.

1. What do you believe is the role of creativity and innovation for Unilever brands?
Creativity, when linked in to consumer needs, can lead to superior innovations that consumers love. Our aim to become the best marketing company in the world is being brought to life with the 'Crafting Brands for Life' marketing strategy. Our mission is to reach more people, in more places, more often with brilliant brands and brand experiences which improve people's lives, driving brand growth and making sustainable living common place. Innovation for us is key to keep consumers engaged and excited about the brands they love. We believe that we are people crafting brands for people, not marketers managing brands for consumers. By creating brands that people can't live without we unlock the magic and build brand love. This requires constant injection of creativity and innovation in leading and driving trends and keeping up with the fast past changing market environment.

This is important not just in products but also in brand communication. Here creativity and innovation is also key to driving engaging conversations and connections with audiences. This is especially true in an ever increasingly cluttered communications landscape where we are seeing an explosion of more brands to choose from on an unprecedented scale and in almost every product category.

2. Can creativity and innovation help Unilever on its quest for sustainable marketing?
Certainly, no longer can or should we separate marketing and environmental and social sustainability into separate functions. Sustainable growth is a consumer demand-led growth, and that is the day job of marketing. Companies like Unilever have an extraordinary reach. We have more than 400 brands in 190 countries - brands like Dove, Lifebuoy, Knorr, Ponds, Tresseme, Domestos and nearly 60% of our business is in fast growth developing markets. Every day two billion people use one of our products. This gives us the opportunity to intervene and improve the lives of millions by offering them the fundamentals of a decent life - clean drinking water, basic health and hygiene and good nutrition; and we take this responsibility seriously.

At Unilever, the Sustainable Living agenda has been a driver of sustainable growth for the business. It has been a source of inspiration for innovation, cost savings and more importantly given our company direction and real purpose. We're growing ahead of our markets and outperforming our competitors. To get these results, we had to rethink business and put Sustainable Living at the heart of our business model, moving our thinking from social responsibility to social accountability. Soon it will no longer be enough to be socially responsible, stakeholders - consumers - will look at business, as socially accountable. It's about seeing business as part of society not separate from it.

To date, globally we have reached 224 million people versus our 2020 goal to help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.

One example of this is Lifebuoy soap taught 71 million people how to wash their hands properly in 16 countries across the globe in 2012 - five times as many people as in 2010. One creative approach was used in India where the marketing team had the 'Handwash' message stamped on rotis, which helped deliver the message in an innovative yet significant manner.

3. Your role involves Africa as well as South Africa. What key changes do you see happening in our region?
Africa is the new Asia. It is 'The Next Frontier' and the changes that are taking shape across the continent are profound. Demographic changes are probably the most important ones of all the drivers. More people, younger people, people living longer...means progress. The strongest correlation with economic growth is the size and growth of a population. And the aspiring nature of human beings will take care of the rest. This is also fuelled by technology, innovation and connectivity, that is lifting hundreds of millions of Africans out of 'isolation'. There will be up's and downs along the way and the progress will be uneven, but yet undeniable from a historic perspective.

4. Can you name an example of a brand that has inspired you?
In Unilever, I have had the fortune to work on many wonderful brands. From global brands like Dove, AXE and Knorr to very local brands like Robertsons here in South Africa. The one that I am particularly close to right now is Sunlight - a brand that was created by one of the founding fathers of our company, a brand that has had a purpose for over a century. Sunlight is a brand that has captured the heart of hundreds of millions of Africans through its optimism, deeply rooted in the realities of their need to have a clean home.

5. What's your favourite vacation spot?
The Kalahari in Africa; Bhutan in Asia; Salar de Uyuni in South America; NY is North America; and My mom's home in Europe.