Nestlé has promoted Laurent Freixe to the role of chief executive officer, following the reported ousting of Mark Schneider at the food and beverage giant.
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The move, effective September 1, will also see Freixe, be added to the Swiss firm’s board of directors.
A Nestlé veteran, Freixe joined the company in France in 1986. Since then, he has assumed various positions of increasing responsibility across different businesses, markets and zones.
Of note, the executive managed the firm’s Europe zone during the financial and economic crisis, from 2008 until 2014, before taking over as CEO of the Americas, where he accelerated growth. Following the creation of Nestlé’s new zone structure in 2022, Freixe was named CEO of Latin America, his most recent position.
He has also been a member of the executive board for 16 years.
“The board of directors is delighted to announce the appointment of Laurent as the new CEO,” said Paul Bulcke, chairman of Nestlé.
“I have known Laurent for a long time and highly regard him as a talented leader with strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience and expertise as well as a deep understanding of markets and consumers. He has demonstrated his ability to deliver results in challenging market conditions. Laurent’s curiosity fuels his passion for innovation and positive change. Laurent is the perfect fit for Nestlé at this time. Under his leadership, Nestlé will further strengthen its position as a dependable, reliable company through consistent and sustainable value creation.”
Nestlé said in a statement that outgoing CEO Schneider, who took on the top role 8 years ago, “decided to relinquish his role.”
However, a Reuters report outlined the German executive was ousted in a sudden decision by the world’s biggest foodmaker, as a result of the group’s underperformance, citing sources close to the matter.
In its most recent trading update, Nestlé sales volumes increased by just 0.1 percent in the first half of 2024, with Greater China up 2.9 percent.