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= Ernest Woodroofe = Sir Ernest George Woodroofe (6 January 1912 - 31 March 2002) was a businessman, best known for holding several positions of relevance in Unilever.

Education and career
Ernest Woodroofe attended Leeds University and gained a First in Physics and a doctorate in Atomic Physics.

In 1935 Woodroofe went to work in a small seed-crushing and oil-refining subsidiary, Loders & Nucoline, in the East End of London, where he combined product development work with the job of transport manager learning vital lessons in cost control.

In 1944 he was transferred to a British Oil and Cake Mills branch in Scotland, where he was in charge of a group of loss-making factories in Scotland where the chief problem was over-manning. Woodroofe embarked on a programme of lay-offs which received a hostile reaction from the workforce. However by persuasion and personal leadership, he returned the operations to profitability and won the worker’s co- operation.

In 1955 he was appointed Head of Unilever Research Division for Unilever and joined the British and Dutch Boards of Unilever a year later.

In 1961 Woodroofe was appointed Vice-chairman of Unilever Ltd and a member of the Special Committee and in 1970 he became Chairman of Unilever Ltd and Vice-chairman of NV.

Woodroofe was awarded a knighthood three years later and in 1974 he retired from Unilever after 39 years with the company.

In his retirement, Sir Ernest remained committed to the conservation of the UK’s salmon and sea trout rivers and was a leading activist for the water quality and natural environment of the Tamar River in Devon. He was also a Vice-President of the Atlantic Salmon Trus t.