Swiss meals big Nestle on Monday (September 1, 2025) dismissed Laurent Freixe as chief government with speedy impact over an “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate”.
The multinational behind Nespresso espresso capsules and KitKat chocolate bars mentioned Mr. Freixe’s dismissal adopted an investigation.
In a swift transfer, Nespresso CEO Philipp Navratil was appointed to take over by his fellow board members.
“The departure of Laurent Freixe follows an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate which breached Nestle’s code of business conduct,” an announcement mentioned.
The board mentioned it had ordered an investigation overseen by chairman Paul Bulcke and lead unbiased director Pablo Isla, with the help of outdoor counsel.
“This was a necessary decision. Nestle’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service,” Mr. Bulcke mentioned in an announcement.
An organization veteran, Mr. Freixe joined Nestle in France in 1986. He ran the agency’s European operations till 2014, steering them by the subprime and euro crises that started in 2008.
He headed the Latin America division earlier than his promotion as CEO.
Mr. Freixe had solely been in the highest spot since a shock swap in September 2024, entrusted with reversing comfortable spending by shoppers for the corporate’s meals and family items.
Nestle’s share value slumped by practically 1 / 4 final yr, elevating considerations in Switzerland, the place pension funds make investments closely in the corporate, whose manufacturers additionally embody Purina pet food, Maggi bouillon cubes, Gerber child meals and Nesquik chocolate-flavoured drinks.
Nestle shares closed up 0.13% at 75.49 Swiss francs on the Swiss inventory alternate.
Net earnings
In late July, Nestle reported a ten.3-percent drop in first half earnings because it struggled to show round its fortunes amid sluggish shopper spending in China, even because it handed on greater cocoa and occasional costs to shoppers.
New chief government Mr. Navratil had been an government vice-president at Nestle, which is headquartered in Vevey on Lake Geneva.
“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,” insisted chairman Mr. Bulcke.
Mr. Navratil began his profession with Nestle in 2001 and took on varied roles in Central America, main the espresso and beverage enterprise in Mexico from 2013 to 2020, when he took over duty for international technique and innovation for the Nescafe and Starbucks manufacturers.
He turned chief government of the Nespresso model in July final yr and joined the corporate board in January 2025.
“I fully embrace the company’s strategic direction, as well as the action plan in place to drive Nestle’s performance,” mentioned Mr. Navratil, pledging to “drive the value creation plan with intensity”.
Mr. Freixe is just the newest of a string of high enterprise figures to be propelled by the exit door in latest years over relationships with colleagues discovered to be in violation of inner guidelines.
Bernard Looney resigned unexpectedly as CEO of British vitality big BP in 2023 over his failure to reveal previous relationships with colleagues.
Steve Easterbrook was ousted as chief government of McDonald’s in 2019 for having a “consensual relationship” with an worker, in violation of firm coverage.
A yr earlier, Brian Krzanich stepped down as chief government of US pc chip big Intel over a “past consensual relationship” with an worker in violation of the corporate’s non-fraternisation coverage.
