The Nestlé board has dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe with immediate effect, the second CEO in 12 months to exit the company. It comes after an internal investigation revealed an undisclosed romantic relationship with a “direct subordinate”, breaching the company’s Code of Business Conduct.
Freixe had worked at Nestlé since 1986 and was appointed CEO in September last year, after Mark Schneider resigned having been in the role for eight years. Freixe had been on the board for 17 years. He will not receive an exit package.
Philipp Navratil has been announced as the new CEO.
Reuters said a company spokesperson revealed an initial investigation was inconclusive, following reports to the company’s internal hotline. Freixe apparently denied the relationship to the board, but when reports continued, Nestlé chair, Paul Bulcke, vice chair and director, Pablo Isla, and an external firm carried out their own probe which confirmed the hotline calls. (It was announced in June that Bulcke would be stepping down as chair in April 2026 and replaced by Isla, the former CEO of Zara and Inditex.)
“This was a necessary decision. Nestlé's values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service at Nestlé,” Bulcke said.
Navratil began at Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor before various commercial roles in Central America. In 2009, he was country manager in Honduras and in 2013, took leadership of the coffee and beverage business in Mexico.
From there, he moved to Nestlé's Coffee Strategic Business Unit, where he designed the global strategy and innovation for Nescafé and Starbucks coffee brands.
In July 2024, Navratil became head of Nespresso and joined the board at the beginning of this year.
Navratil said he was honoured to become CEO and that it was a privilege to lead the company.
“I fully embrace the company’s strategic direction, as well as the action plan in place to drive Nestlé's performance. I look forward to working closely with the entire leadership of the company, in alignment with the board, chairman Paul Bulcke, and chairman-designate Pablo Isla, to accelerate execution and to drive the value creation plan with intensity,” Navratil said.
Bulcke said Navratil was recognised for “his impressive track record of achieving results in challenging environments”.
“Renowned for his dynamic presence, he inspires teams and leads with a collaborative, inclusive management style.
“The board is confident that he will drive our growth plans forward and accelerate efficiency efforts. We are not changing course on strategy, and we will not lose pace on performance,” he said.
