Former marketing boss takes over as CEO of Nestlé

Nestlé has appointed former marketer Laurent Freixe as CEO. He takes over on 1 September, replacing Mark Schneider who is leaving after more than eight years as CEO.

Freixe joined Nestlé in 1986, taking on increasing responsibility for marketing and sales as his career progressed, including director of marketing for its Nutrition division in the 1990s. Freixe takes on the top job after being CEO of Nestlé’s Latin America zone since 2022.

The new CEO has been a member of Nestlé’s executive board for 16 years and has led several global corporate initiatives to improve productivity, increase operational efficiency, and simplify processes.

His appointment comes as the FMCG company has committed to investing more heavily in its brands as it aims to return to volume growth.

There will always be challenges, but we have unparalleled strengths, such as iconic brands and products.

Laurent Freixe, Nestlé

The food and drinks giant, which owns brands such as Nespresso and Shreddies, increased its marketing and administration spend as a percentage of sales by 130 basis points to 19.9% during the first half of the year.

Advertising and marketing investment represented 8.1% of sales, an increase of 100 basis points compared to the first half of 2023.

Freixe says: “I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to continue building and strengthening Nestlé, and I am excited to take on this responsibility.

“There will always be challenges, but we have unparalleled strengths, such as iconic brands and products, an unmatched global presence, leading innovation and execution capabilities, and above all, exceptional people and teams.

“We can strategically position Nestlé to lead and win everywhere we operate.”