Swiss food giant Nestle announced the immediate dismissal of CEO Laurent Freixes after an internal investigation revealed an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate. The company stated that such behavior contradicts its code of business ethics and appointed Philippe Navratil, one of the group's long-standing executives, as the new head. This was reported by The Washington Post, writes UNN.
Details
The investigation was conducted under the supervision of Chairman of the Board of Directors Paul Bulcke and independent director Pablo Isla with the participation of external lawyers.
This was a necessary decision. Nestle's values and management principles are the foundation of our company
Philippe Navratil, who began his career at Nestle in 2001 as an internal auditor, has recently been responsible for the development of Nescafe and Starbucks brands and managed the Nespresso division. He has a reputation as a strategic manager capable of stabilizing the company in difficult conditions.
Laurent Freixes worked at Nestle since 1986 and only last year headed the corporation, replacing Mark Schneider. In his recent interview, he criticized his predecessor's course on diversification and emphasized the need to return to key business areas - coffee, pet food, and traditional food products.
Nestle is currently going through a difficult period: for the first half of 2025, its net profit amounted to about 6.3 billion dollars - 10% less than last year. Among the challenges, the company names customs tariffs and currency fluctuations. Despite the difficulties, the concern remains the world's largest food producer, present on all continents except Antarctica.
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