Nestlé has dismissed chief executive Laurent Freixe with immediate effect after an investigation into an “undisclosed romantic relationship”, and appointed Nespresso head Philipp Navratil as his replacement.
The Swiss consumer goods company said the departure of Freixe, who was promoted to chief executive last August after almost 40 years with Nestlé, came after a probe into a relationship with a direct subordinate which breached its code of business conduct.
Nestlé’s chair Paul Bulcke said: “This was a necessary decision. Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service at Nestlé.”
Nestle first launched an investigation into Freixe’s personal relationship with a colleague in late spring after a number of reports were made through Nestlé’s internal complaints system called “Speak Up”.
Staff had raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest and favouritism but last month, Nestlé told the Financial Times that, following the internal investigation, it found the claims were “unsubstantiated”.
However, after internal complaints persisted, the Nestlé board subsequently decided to launch another investigation with the help of external counsel. This found the claims to be substantiated, said a person briefed on the situation.
