VEVEY, Switzerland — Swiss food giant Nestle on Monday dismissed Chief Executive Laurent Freixe over an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, the company said.
“The departure of Laurent Freixe follows an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate which breached Nestle’s code of business conduct,” the company said in a statement.
Freixe, who joined Nestle in France in 1986, had served as CEO since September 2024. He previously led the company’s European and Latin American operations and guided Nestle through the 2008 financial crisis.
In a swift move, Nespresso CEO Philipp Navratil was appointed to take over as CEO.
“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.
The board said the investigation was overseen by Bulcke and lead independent director Pablo Isla, with support from outside counsel.
Navratil, who joined Nestle in 2001, led the coffee and beverage business in Mexico and later global strategy and innovation for Nescafe and Starbucks brands. He became CEO of Nespresso in July 2024 and joined the company board in January 2025.
“I fully embrace the company’s strategic direction, as well as the action plan in place to drive Nestle’s performance,” Navratil said. “I will drive the value creation plan with intensity.”
Nestle, which makes Nespresso coffee capsules, KitKat chocolate bars, Purina dog food, Maggi bouillon cubes, Gerber baby food, and Nesquik drinks, reported a 10.3-percent drop in first-half profits in July amid sluggish consumer spending in China. Its shares closed up 0.13 percent at 75.49 Swiss francs on the Swiss stock exchange.
Freixe’s exit is the latest in a series of high-profile CEO departures over undisclosed relationships, including Bernard Looney at BP in 2023, Steve Easterbrook at McDonald’s in 2019, and Brian Krzanich at Intel in 2018.
