Rob Master is the North America Media Director for Unilever, where he oversees media strategy and implementation across all Unilever categories and brands. Since moving into that role in 2007, Master has focused on communications innovation, shifting media planning and strategy to the beginning of the product development pipeline, and propelling Unilever to the forefront of digital innovation and branded entertainment, evidenced by the company’s recognition by Advertising Age as “Digital Marketer of the Year”, Media Post, Media Client of the Year and one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Marketers. Master has also played a leading role in helping rewrite the rules of the traditional “upfront” process with the development and success of Unilever’s unique and trend-setting “reverse upfront” approach, during which Unilever presents its brands’ plans to media companies and asks them to develop media plans and content deals around them. Since joining Unilever in 2002, Master has managed a number of brands including Dove and Axe and has driven awarding-winning branding campaigns around the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and The Axe Effect. Before coming to Unilever, Master worked in brand marketing for PepsiCo’s Taco Bell and at Young & Rubicam. Prior to those roles, he led the strategic marketing initiatives for Internet start-up eHobbies, an online retailer. Master holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and an M.B.A. from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. He resides in New York with his wife and two children. Last Updated: 2010