Laurent Freixe was the CEO of Nestlé from September 2024 until September 2025. He was succeeded by Philipp Navratil, a long-time Nestlé executive known for leading the Nespresso division and driving innovation in the coffee business.
According to Wikipedia, Freixe was born in April 1962 and raised in Paris. His father and mother were both electrical engineers. In 1985, he completed an MBA focusing on marketing at Ecole de Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord (EDHEC Business School) in Lille. Freixe competed in handball and secured a French championship title at the age of sixteen.
When did Laurent Freixe become CEO of Nestlé?
Laurent Freixe became CEO of Nestlé in September 2024, following the departure of his predecessor, Mark Schneider. His appointment marked a significant moment for the company, as Freixe had spent nearly four decades rising through Nestlé’s ranks, with leadership roles across Europe, Latin America, and the Americas.
His tenure, however, was short-lived—ending in September 2025 after an internal investigation revealed a violation of Nestlé’s Code of Business Conduct. Despite the abrupt exit, his brief time as CEO was shaped by efforts to accelerate sustainability, digital transformation, and internal leadership development.
📈 A Legacy Built Over Four Decades - Laurent Freixe Journey in Nestle
According to Wikipedia, Freixe began his career at Nestlé by negotiating contracts with grocery chains. He later worked in market research and served as a brand manager for the Dairy and Nutrition division. He played a pivotal role in helping Nestlé surpass its competitor Captain Iglo in the fish sticks sector by launching a new brand named Croustibat. Additionally, he assisted the underperforming French snacks division in recovering by implementing significant staffing reductions in the overstaffed department.
At the age of 37, Freixe assumed leadership of the Dairy and Nutrition Division for Nestlé France for a duration of three years, before relocating to Hungary where he led the Spanish and Portuguese markets for two years.
In 2008, Freixe was appointed to lead the operations in Europe. He contributed to the growth of Nestlé's coffee brand, Nescafé Dolce Gusto, resulting in billions in yearly revenue. As the head of Europe, he honed his management style, which he calls a "virtuous circle." In 2014, he took charge of the Americas division at Nestlé. On September 1, 2024, Freixe took over from Ulf Mark Schneider as the chief executive of Nestlé. He abandoned the previously planned restructuring, boosted advertising expenditures, and implemented several cost-cutting measures amounting to several hundred million euros each year. Freixe indicated that he intended to slow the rate of the company’s acquisitions.
He also revived the company's 60/40 rule, which states that Nestlé will only launch products that demonstrate, through blind taste-testing, that at least 60 percent of consumers favor them over rival offerings.
🧑💼 Career Highlights
- Joined Nestlé in 1986 in France.
- Held leadership roles across Europe and Latin America, including:
- CEO of Nestlé Hungary (2003)
- CEO of Nestlé Iberian Region (2007)
- Executive VP for Zone Europe (2008)
- CEO of Zone Americas (2014)
- CEO of Zone Latin America (2022)
- Became CEO of Nestlé S.A. in 2024, succeeding Mark Schneider.
What is Laurent Freixe's management philosophy?
According to en.wikipedia, Laurent Freixe’s management philosophy centers around what he calls the “virtuous circle”—a strategic approach that emphasizes continuous improvement, ethical leadership, and long-term value creation.
🔄 The “Virtuous Circle” Explained
Freixe believes that sustainable success comes from reinforcing positive cycles within the organization:
- Empowered Employees → drive innovation and performance.
- Customer-Centric Products → build brand loyalty and market share.
- Responsible Growth → ensures profitability while respecting social and environmental commitments.
This philosophy guided his decisions across Nestlé’s global zones, especially in Europe and Latin America, where he focused on:
- Youth employment and development, launching the Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative.
- Taste-driven innovation, reviving the company’s 60/40 rule—only launching products that win blind taste tests against competitors.
- Lean operations, cutting costs while increasing advertising to strengthen brand visibility.
🧠 Leadership Style
Freixe is known for:
- Strategic pragmatism: balancing bold moves with operational discipline.
- Internal talent cultivation: rising through Nestlé’s ranks himself, he championed internal promotions and leadership development.
- Ethical rigor: ironically, despite his later dismissal, he was a vocal advocate for integrity and transparency in business conduct.
His philosophy was less about flashy disruption and more about reinforcing what works—while keeping people and purpose at the core.
What impact has Laurent Freixe had on Nestlé?
Laurent Freixe’s impact on Nestlé is a tale of deep legacy, strategic ambition—and a dramatic fall from grace.
📈 Strategic Contributions
Over his nearly 40-year tenure, Freixe helped shape Nestlé’s global footprint:
- Expanded operations in Latin America and Europe, driving market share in emerging economies.
- Championed youth employment through the Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative, which aimed to train and hire 10 million young people by 2030.
- Advocated for taste-first innovation, reviving Nestlé’s “60/40+” rule—only launching products that outperform competitors in blind taste tests and meet nutritional standards.
- Pushed for leaner operations, cutting costs while increasing brand investment, especially in the Americas.
🧭 Leadership as CEO (2024–2025)
His brief time as CEO was marked by:
- A focus on sustainability and digital transformation, continuing Nestlé’s push toward recyclable packaging and net-zero emissions.
- Efforts to reverse sluggish sales and a declining share price, though results were mixed.
- A commitment to internal leadership development, promoting talent from within rather than relying on external hires.
Laurent Freixe’s tenure as CEO of Nestlé was brief but eventful. He stepped into the role in September 2024, bringing nearly four decades of experience within the company. His leadership was expected to usher in a new phase of innovation and sustainability, especially given his prior success leading Nestlé’s operations in Europe and Latin America.
However, by September 2025, his time at the helm came to an abrupt end following an internal investigation into a personal relationship with a subordinate, which violated Nestlé’s Code of Business Conduct. The company acted swiftly, emphasizing its commitment to ethical leadership and transparency.
Freixe’s departure marked a significant moment for Nestlé, not just because of the circumstances, but because it disrupted what had been a long-standing tradition of stable executive leadership.
#LaurentFreixe #NestléCEO #BusinessLeadership
#CorporateEthics #NestléScandal #YouthEmpowerment #LeadershipPhilosophy
#CEOExit #NestléNews #PhilippNavratil #GlobalBusiness #ExecutiveAccountability
#SustainabilityLeadership
Comments
Post a Comment