Nestle Had Ousted Laurent Freixe's Predecessor Mark Schneider As Well—Here's Why

Nestle has abruptly fired its CEO, Laurent Freixe, due to an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate. The Swiss food giant made the announcement on Monday, about one year after Freixe took over the top role.

His removal comes after an internal investigation found that his relationship violated the company’s code of business conduct. The probe was led by Chairman Paul Bulcke and Lead Independent Director Pablo Isla. The ousted CEO had initially denied the relationship to the board.

Freixe will not receive an exit package, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Nestle has named Philipp Navratil, a company veteran who previously led the Nespresso business, as the new CEO.

Laurent Freixe’s sudden exit mirrors that of his predecessor, Mark Schneider, who was removed in August 2024. Schneider was known for leading Nestle through the COVID-19 pandemic. He managed to grow profit margins despite major supply chain disruptions. He also oversaw a major company reorganisation.

While Nestle had not given any details of his departure at the time, Reuters had later reported that the CEO was fired by the company. One insider at Nestle had told Reuters that the board had grown frustrated with slow sales growth under Schneider.

"Two years ago, Mark Schneider could do nothing wrong; now he seems to get it all wrong," Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne was quoted as saying by Reuters. At the time, Nestle’s stock was 30% down since its pandemic high in early 2022.

Schneider became Nestle’s CEO in 2017. He was the first outsider to lead the company in nearly 100 years. His successor, now ousted Freixe, is from France. Freixe began his career at Nestle 40 years ago. He started in marketing and steadily rose through the ranks to hold top executive roles.

The new CEO, Navratil, started at Nestle in 2001 as an internal auditor. He later held commercial roles in Central America. In 2009, he became country manager for Nestle Honduras. He led the coffee and beverage unit in Mexico from 2013. In 2020, he joined Nestle’s global coffee team and moved to Nespresso in 2024.