Nestle, the world’s largest food and beverage company, fired CEO Laurent Freixe after disclosing a romantic relationship with a subordinate with Swiss company.
Sept. 1 Nestle, the world’s largest food and beverage company, on Monday fired CEO Laurent Freixe after disclosing a romantic relationship with a subordinate one year after he took over the Swiss company.
The public company, based in Vevey, announced Philipp Navratil, who headed the Nespresso coffee unit, as the immediate successor of Freize, 63.
The employee was not on the executive board, the BBC reported.
« 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 news release. « In line with best practice corporate governance, the Board ordered an investigation overseen by Chairman Paul Bulcke and Lead Independent Director, Pablo Isla, with the support of independent outside counsel. »
Bulcke, who announced in June that he was stepping down next year, said: « This was a necessary decision. Nestle’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company.
