Nestlé’s investors were launched again to broken waters on Tuesday after the Swiss food giant changed its executive director for the second time in a year, expelling Chief Laurent Freixe about an adventure he had with a subordinate.
The company’s shares indicated 1.9 percent lower in the activity prior to the market in Zurich after Freixe’s sudden dismissal on Monday after a meeting of the Board to discuss the results of an investigation into the relationship.
The recession is another blow to Nestlé investors who have frustrated three years of decreased shares between 2022 and 2024 and without recovery signs this year.
Freixe will be replaced by Philipp Navrathil, a rising star in the Nescafe coffee manufacturer and Kitkat chocolate bars, which has been fighting with sales volumes from the pandemic.
Freixe’s dismissal follows an investigation into a romantic relationship not revealed with a direct subordinate, which violated Nestlé’s commercial behavior, Nestlé said Monday night.
Freixe, who spent 39 years with Nestlé, will not receive any starting package after his departure, said the company Reuters.
The abrupt elimination of Nestlé’s veteran occurs a year after the predecessor Mark Schneider was eliminated, and two and a half months after long -date president Paul Bulcke announced that he would resign in 2026 in one of the most turbulent periods in the 159 years of the company’s history.
In a brief statement, Bulcke thanked Freixe for his years of service in Nestlé, but said the dismissal was a “necessary decision.”
Sought management stability
Nestlé’s actions, a base of the Swiss Stock Exchange, have lost almost a third of their value in the last five years, with a low performance of European companions.
Freixe’s appointment could not stop the slide, and the shares of the company threw 17 percent during their leadership, disappointing investors.
In July, Nestlé launched a review of its low -performance vitamins business that could lead to the divestment of some brands after the lost expectations of sales sales in the first half.
“The market did not like Freixe particularly, and the restructuring objectives also put themselves in the rear burner,” said Maurizio Porfiri, investment director of the commercial firm Maverix.
“Another new beginning is needed, and it is time for more stability to return to the management of this global corporation,” he told Reuters.
Freixe’s dismissal appeared on the cover of the Swiss newspapers, with Neue Zuercher Zeitung noting that Nestlé had lost his “legendary stability” where the CEO stayed for years before becoming presidents.
It is likely that the last change leaves unanswered questions about Nestlé’s medium -term direction and “keep a lid in capital history until we listen more about Navrathil’s plan,” JP Morgan analysts said in a research note.
Bank analysts said it was unlikely that the news of Freixe’s expulsion reassured investors because it was the second time in a year that the company had designated a new boss without carrying out an exhaustive search for a replacement.
The note also expressed concern that the Navrathil incoming CEO seemed to be “encased” for Freixe’s response strategy for now at a time when the market was not convinced.
Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, said he expected Nestlé’s actions to under pressure due to the last agitation at Nestlé headquarters in Vevey, next to the Gin Gin.
“This is not Nestlé’s way of doing things, having two CEO replacements in just over a year,” Cox said. “Hopefully this returns them to the line and narrow.”
