Darren Farinas Joins Unilever as Associate Director, Media Procurement

Unilever has appointed Darren Farinas as Associate Director, Media Procurement, adding experienced leadership to its media procurement function.

Farinas announced the move as a new professional chapter, following a career that has included experience across media, advertising, and procurement. His new position will focus on the procurement side of Unilever’s media operations, an area that has become increasingly important as global advertisers manage complex media investments across multiple channels and markets.

Media procurement has evolved significantly in recent years. Beyond negotiating costs, procurement teams are increasingly involved in evaluating agency relationships, improving media value, strengthening transparency, and ensuring that advertising investments align with broader business objectives.

Farinas’ appointment comes as major advertisers continue to reassess how they manage media spending amid changes in digital advertising, programmatic buying, retail media, measurement, and emerging AI-powered media technologies. These developments are creating new considerations for procurement leaders responsible for balancing efficiency, scale, quality, and commercial value.

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In his new role, Farinas will operate at the intersection of procurement, media, and marketing, working within a global organization with a broad portfolio of consumer brands. The position reflects the increasingly strategic nature of media procurement within large enterprises.

For the wider advertising industry, the move highlights how media procurement is becoming more closely connected with marketing strategy. As media ecosystems become more fragmented, advertisers are placing greater emphasis on governance, accountability, cost efficiency, and measurable outcomes.

Farinas’ transition to Unilever represents another senior career move within the media and advertising ecosystem. His experience will now be applied to a global advertiser environment where media procurement plays an important role in managing the commercial side of marketing investments.

The appointment comes at a time when advertisers are navigating significant changes in media buying and measurement, making procurement expertise increasingly relevant to how large organizations structure and manage their media operations.