An internal investigation on the French CEO was conducted recently, following an anonymous tipoff on its internal whistleblowing platform, Nestle told Newsweek.
Concerns about a possible relationship were first raised by staff via the company’s internal reporting channel Speak Up.
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Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe speaks at a session during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2025. Photo by AFP |
Freixe initially denied the relationship to the board, a company spokesperson said.
Freixe first met the woman in 2022, prior to his appointment as CEO, while he was serving as head of Nestlé’s Latin America operations, according to Swiss financial news outlet Inside Paradeplatz.
The female subordinate – whose identity has not been disclosed – departed from Nestlé during the summer, according to a company spokesperson.
The investigation led to the removal of the 63-year-old CEO Monday.
Philipp Navratil, Nespresso CEO, was appointed to take over Freixe’s position by his fellow board members.
“This was a necessary decision. Nestle’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service,” chairman Paul Bulcke said in a statement.
Freixe would not receive an exit package, according to BBC.
He was born in Paris and studied at the Ecole de Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord in Lille, where he specialized business administration, according to the Nestle’s website.
He began his career with Nestle in France in 1986, taking on roles in marketing and sales.
Over the years, he held positions in different markets, becoming market head of Nestle Hungary in 2003 and later leading the Nestle Iberian region in 2007.
His career trajectory continued upward as he became executive vice president CEO for Zone Americas in 2014, covering the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
He was named CEO in 2024. He speaks French, English, Spanish and. German.
Leadership crisis
The removal of Freixe is believed to put the Swiss food giant into a leadership crisis that compounds a share price slump and slowing sales.
“The loss of two CEOs and a chairman in a year is of historic proportions for Nestle,” said Ingo Speich, head of Corporate Governance and Sustainability at Deka, a top-30 Nestle investor, as cited by Reuters.
“The new CEO needs to fix the business model and bring volumes back. He needs to do better M&A and focus more on emerging markets.”
Corporate governance expert Peter V Kunz, from the University of Bern, said that requirements about relationship disclosure at most public companies are broadly similar.
“In this respect, Freixe’s behaviour – regardless of whether it was legal or not – seems to me to be simply stupid and incomprehensible in this day and age,” Kunz said.
