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Nestlé has dismissed its chief executive, Laurent Freixe, after an investigation into an “undisclosed romantic relationship” with a subordinate that was found to have breached its code of business conduct.
The Swiss-headquartered multinational named Philipp Navratil as his replacement.
Nestlé said Freixe’s departure after 40 years at the company followed an investigation overseen by its chair, Paul Bulcke, and lead independent director, Pablo Isla, with the support of outside counsel, into the relationship with a direct subordinate in breach of the company’s conduct code.
“This was a necessary decision,” said Bulcke in a statement.
“Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service.”
Freixe took over the chief executive role in September last year after Nestlé, which owns consumer goods brands including KitKat chocolate, Häagen-Dazs ice-cream and Nespresso coffee capsules, ousted his predecessor, Mark Schneider.
Bulcke, who Nestlé announced in June is set to step down as chair next year, said Navratil was “recognised for his impressive track record of achieving results in challenging environments”.
He said Freixe’s successor was “renowned for his dynamic presence, he inspires teams and leads with a collaborative, inclusive management style.
We are not changing course on strategy, and we will not lose pace on performance.”
Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor.
After holding various commercial roles in Central America, he was appointed country manager for Nestlé Honduras in 2009.
He assumed leadership of the coffee and beverage business in Mexico in 2013 and transitioned to Nestlé’s coffee strategic business division in 2020.
He moved to Nespresso in July 2024 and joined Nestlé’s executive board on 1 January this year.
In September 2023, the chief executive of the oil multinational BP resigned after failing to reveal relationships with colleagues.
Bernard Looney was subsequently formally dismissed from his one-year notice period for serious misconduct after an investigation by the BP board and its advisers found he had knowingly misled his fellow directors when they sought assurances regarding his disclosure of past relationships and his future behaviour.
The decision meant he was denied more than £32m in pay and share awards. Looney was replaced as CEO by Murray Auchincloss.
BP subsequently introduced a policy under which employees have to disclose intimate relationships with colleagues or risk losing their jobs.
