Nestlé has fired CEO Laurent Freixe because he had a romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, the company announced Monday.
Freixe will be replaced by Philipp Navratil, who has worked at the food and drink company since 2001. Navratil was previously in charge of the company’s Nespresso division.
“This was a necessary decision,” said Paul Bulcke, chairman of the Nestlé’s board of directors. “Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service at Nestlé.”
Freixe had been CEO of the Switzerland-based company for 365 days — taking over on Sept. 1, 2024, when he replaced Mark Schneider in that role. He had worked for Nestlé since 1986, and before he became CEO, he was in charge of the company’s Latin American division.
Navratil was first hired by Nestlé as an internal auditor. He rose through the ranks to join the company’s executive board at the beginning of 2025.
“I am honored by the trust the Board has placed in me, and it is a privilege to take on the responsibility of leading Nestlé into the future,” Navratil said in a press release. “I fully embrace the company’s strategic direction, as well as the action plan in place to drive Nestlé’s performance.”
Freixe’s relationship was subject of an internal investigation at Nestlé earlier this year, but the probe turned up nothing at the time, the Financial Times reported.
