Nestle Replaces CEO Schneider with Company Veteran Freixe

Nestle announced on Thursday that it is replacing its CEO, Mark Schneider, with Laurent Freixe, a long-serving executive within the company. This leadership change comes as the world’s largest food company faces challenges due to the cost of living crisis affecting its customers.

Schneider has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and member of the Board of Directors after eight years at the helm, according to Nestle.

The company has faced difficulties recently, having lowered its full-year sales forecast last month. Nestle cited the need to slow down price increases as more customers, feeling the pinch of tighter budgets, become increasingly price-sensitive.

Nestle’s shares have dropped 8% in 2024, underperforming compared to rivals like Unilever, which has seen a 29% increase in shares this year.

Laurent Freixe, who joined Nestle in 1986, has been a member of the Swiss company’s executive board for 16 years. Most recently, he served as CEO of Zone Americas.

“A veteran, knowing Nestlé in and out, as well as the markets, is taking over,” said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel.

Nestle stated that the leadership change will take effect on September 1.

The appointment of Freixe marks a return to Nestle’s tradition of promoting chief executives from within the company. Schneider, the former head of German healthcare company Fresenius, was an exception when he became Nestle’s first external CEO hire in nearly a century in 2016.