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John McDowell (1874-1936) was Director of Unilever Limited 1930-34, previously having served as both Director and Vice-Chairman of its predecessor company Lever Brothers. He was integral to bringing about the creation of Unilever through orchestrating Lever Brothers' merger with the Margarine Union companies.

Early Life
John McDowell was born in Ulster in 1874, the nephew of Sir Alexander McDowell, a solicitor and prominent Ulster unionist negotiator. Initially, John McDowell also pursued a career in law, qualifying as a solicitor in 1898 and practicing until 1903.

Lever Brothers Limited
McDowell joined Lever Brothers Limited in 1903 as a joint assistant secretary, becoming Company Secretary in 1905, remaining in this position until 1915. During this period, he used his legal background to prepare legal cases and draw up agreements on behalf of the company. Most notably, he deployed these skills to tackle a a press campaign against Lever Brothers Limited beginning in 1906-7.

After 1915 he was appointed as a director of Lever Brothers Limited, and then as Vice-Chairman of the company in 1925.

Creation of Unilever
Preliminary meetings that would lead to the eventual merger of Lever Brothers and the Margarine Union began in 1928, but plans for the companies' amalgamation were halted by differences in their financial organisation. While the capital of Lever Brothers Limited consisted predominantly of preference shares, Margarine Union and NV Margarine Unie's was ordinary shares. McDowell, along with Paul Rykens of the Margarine Union, came up with the solution: amalgamating the ordinary share capital of Lever Brothers with the share capital of the Margarine Union companies, so that control of the interests of both organisations would be vested equally in the holders of the ordinary shares of Lever Brothers and the controlling shares of the Margarine Union companies. This resolution formed a key element of the so-called 'Equalisation Agreement' - the set of arrangements that brought Unilever into being. Signed on 2 September 1929, the agreement is still in force today.

After the merger, McDowell became a director of Unilever Limited, serving in this position from 1930 until he retired in 1934 due to ill health.

Other Achievements
He was a member of Co-Partnership Trust from its beginning in 1909 until he retired in 1934, showing an active interest in collaborative partnership throughout his career, from his days as Secretary at Lever Brothers to his role in the creation of Unilever. He was also Vice-President and eventual president of the Trade-Marks, Patents and Designs Federation.

Death
McDowell passed away on 13th April 1936, at a nursing home in London.