Nestlé has appointed a new CEO. The Swiss food manufacturer is ending an experiment.
As the business news portal muula.ch wrote just a few days ago, either the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the CEO of the food giant Nestlé was no longer acceptable.
Now, CEO Mark Schneider has resigned, as the Vevey-based company announced on Thursday evening.
Focus on healthy products
Schneider has decided to step down from both of his roles as CEO and member of the Board of Directors, it was further reported.
In his eight years at Nestlé, he had emphatically aligned the portfolio with the corporate strategy, with high-growth categories such as coffee, products for pets and health-support products at its center, the company said in recognition of his work.
Succession already resolved
Chairman of the Board of Directors Paul Bulcke remains, emphasizing that Schneider had made a significant contribution to the great progress in sustainability efforts.
This statement, and the fact that the Group has already presented its succession solution, shows that dissatisfaction with Schneider’s performance has been brewing for some time.
The Board of Directors of Nestlé has appointed Laurent Freixe, currently Executive Vice President and CEO of Zone Latin America (Latam), as CEO as of September 1, the food giant proclaimed.
Freixe will also be proposed for election to the Board of Directors at the 2025 Annual General Meeting, it added.
On the Executive Board for 16 years
Freixe was born 1962 and began his career at Nestlé in France in 1986.
Since then, he has held positions of increasing responsibility in various business areas, markets and zones within the Group, which is known for Nespresso and Kit Kat.
Freixe has been a member of the Executive Board for 16 years and was already considered a hot candidate for the top job back at the time of Schneider’s appointment.
This clearly shows that Nestlé has now had enough of the ‘experiment’ of having an outsider as CEO. As is well known, Schneider came from the German healthcare group Fresenius Medical Care.
Before that, it had always appointed home-grown talent.
Same competencies
The reason for the change in leadership is also striking.
Bulcke thanked Schneider for steering the company through difficult times and praised the new CEO for proving that he can deliver results under difficult market conditions.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors also emphasized that Freixe is exactly the kind of leader Nestlé needs right now.
So, Schneider, born in 1965, clearly did not deliver results during difficult market conditions, exactly as muula.ch recently reported about Nestlé shooting itself in the foot.
22.08.2024/kut./ena.
