Food giant Nestlé is replacing its CEO Laurent Freixe with immediate effect. It seems that it was not only his love affair that sealed his fate.
Sometimes, however, happy coincidences also arise for companies.
The food company Nestlé has announced a change in the position of CEO.
Romantic relationship concealed
Laurent Freixe will be replaced with immediate effect by the acting CEO of Nespresso, Philipp Navratil, Nestlé announced unexpectedly on Monday evening.
CEO Freixe had broken internal rules, according to the announcement regarding the sudden departure of the former CEO.
An investigation had revealed an undisclosed romantic relationship between the Frenchman and a direct subordinate, which violated Nestlé’s code of conduct.
Freixe was subsequently dismissed, having been in office for exactly one year.
Unsuccessful action
Chairman of the Board Paul Bulcke, who is himself stepping down soon, explained that it had been a necessary decision.
However, the dismissal may have been made easier by the fact that Freixe, as Mark Schneider’s successor, had not delivered the hoped-for success.
The share price is still stagnating, and no satisfactory solution has yet been found for the water business, which has also attracted the attention of the authorities due to misconduct.
The romantic relationship had already become public knowledge at the end of July 2025. Therefore, the company therefore took a long time to deal with that matter.
Removal from the board of directors
Just a few months ago, Freixe was still being celebrated as an internal solution. But it quickly became clear that his appointment was also a mistake.
Behind closed doors, observers described his demeanor as that of the French Sun King. According to media reports, he had been involved in another affair in the past.
The dismissed top manager was immediately removed as CEO from Nestlé’s website.
However, the Frenchman was still listed as a member of the board of directors.
Dismissal from this body is not so easy; however, Freixe may have resigned. No changes had yet been noted in the commercial register. However, these are mandatory.
Educated at the University of St. Gallen
The new Nestlé CEO Navratil (born in 1976, married) has only been on the executive board of the Vevey-based food giant for a few months.
However, the Austrian and Swiss national, who studied business administration at the University of St. Gallen, has been working for Nestlé since 2001 in various positions in Central and South America.
This is noteworthy because Freixe also worked in Latin America.
In 2020, Navratil took over as head of the Strategic Business Unit Coffee.
Moreover, the father of two has only been CEO of Nespresso since July 2024. In this respect, a relative newcomer is taking on the top job at Nestlé.
01.09.2025/kut./ena.
