The world’s biggest food and drink company has ousted its second CEO in just over a year.
On Monday, Nestlé dismissed Laurent Freixe, 63, who had led the company since September 2024, following an investigation into a breach of its code of conduct.
Freixe’s dismissal comes as the company — which sells Gerber baby food, Purina pet meals, Nescafé coffee pods, and KitKat sweets — has lagged competitors in sales growth.
Nestlé said Freixe was dismissed after an investigation found he had an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate.
‘This was a necessary decision,’ said Paul Bulcke, one of the board members who led the investigation, said. ‘Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service.’
Nestlé has held the title of the world’s largest food and beverage company by sales for the past decade.
In the US, Nestlé dominates grocery aisles with its grab-and-go products, particularly in the coffee, pet, baby, and candy sections.
Nestlé — which also owns a fifth of beauty giant L’Oreal — has attempted to attract younger audiences with star-studded product endorsements.
Laurent Freixe’s executive board
Dismissed Laurent Freixe was sacked for an undisclosed romantic relationship with a ‘direct subordinate.’
The 63-year-old’s 12-person board are all direct reports. Here are the names, minus the new CEO:
- Stefan Palzer, 56, chief technology officer
- Leanne Geal, 60, group general counsel
- Remy Ejel, 56, executive vice president
- Stephanie Pullings Hart, 53, COO
- David Rennie, 59, head of marketing
- Anna Mohl, 57, lead of health science
- Anna Manz, 52, CFO
- Guillaume Le Cunff, 55, EVP of Europe
- Sanjay Bahadur, 66, business development
- Anna Lenz, 46, human resources
- Jeff Hamilton, 59, EVP of Americas
L’Oréal has tapped high-profile celebrities such as Kendall Jenner as ambassadors, leveraging her star power to boost campaigns like ‘Because You’re Worth It’ and connect with Gen Z consumers.
The Swiss giant employs hundreds of thousands globally and generated over $101.5 billion in sales in 2024, outpacing Pepsi’s $91 billion.
But sales have been slipping.
In July, the company reported a 1.8 percent drop in global sales. The company also stated that its sugary and caffeinated products — which relied on higher-priced exports from Central America — were becoming more expensive to produce.
Meanwhile, giant global competitors like Unilever and Danone posted significant increases in their sales and profits.
Top bosses at Nestlé have been embroiled in several major controversies since 2020.
Bulcke, who held the CEO position from 2008 to 2016, was at the center of a harassment lawsuit himself.
A former internal food safety inspector, Yasmine Motarjemi, alleged that she warned the company about toxicity problems in baby foods. She alleged in court that the company retaliated against her for whistleblowing.
In 2020, the company decided to pay her around $2.5 million in damages.
‘What hypocrisy!’ Motarjemi said on LinkedIn after Monday’s ouster.
‘In other words, at Nestlé, you can harass your subordinates, but you can’t love them.’
Freixe, the Paris-born executive who joined the company in 1986, is the second straight CEO to be removed.
His expulsion comes 13 months after his predecessor, Mark Schneider, was removed following a seven-year stint.
Schneider had ruffled global political feathers as the top boss for his willingness to sell products in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Phil Navratil, who began his career with Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor, will take over as the top boss.
After holding various commercial roles in Central America, he was appointed country manager for Nestlé Honduras in 2009.
He assumed leadership of the coffee and beverage business in Mexico in 2013 and transitioned to Nestlé’s Coffee strategic business unit in 2020.
He joined Nespresso in July 2024 and was appointed to the Nestlé executive board as of January 1 this year.
‘I fully embrace the company’s strategic direction, as well as the action plan in place to drive Nestlé’s performance,’ Navratil said.
The company didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
