The abrupt sacking of Swiss food giant Nestlé’s CEO, Laurent Freixe, on Monday created ripples in the European corporate sector after the company claimed an investigation had revealed Freixe’s “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate”.
The company said his actions breached its code of business conduct and announced Nespresso chief, Philipp Navratil as the new chief executive.
“The departure of Laurent Freixe follows an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate which breached Nestlé's code of business conduct,” the board said in a statement.
Freixe had joined the firm in 1986 and only been promoted to the position of the CEO in September, 2024, after leading its Latin America division.
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According to a leading news agency, Nestlé’s board had launched an inquiry into the alleged misconduct, which was overseen by chairman, Paul Bulcke, and lead independent director, Pablo Isla. The inquiry was supported by an external counsel.
Bulcke, in fact, called the decision “necessary”, and said that “Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service”.
Nestlé has found itself amidst numerous challenges, including falling profits and weak spending in China, a sluggish consumer demand globally, and passing on higher raw material costs to shoppers.
In 2024, Freixe too had replaced Mark Schneider in a surprise switch.
Navratil, meanwhile, was praised by the board for “achieving results in challenging environments” after he took over as Nespresso CEO in 2024. Having started his career at Nestlé in 2001, Navratil led Nescafé and Starbucks globally before joining Nestlé’s executive board in January, 2025.
Freixe joins a list of high-profile business leaders forced out of work over workplace relationships. Astronomer’s CEO Andy Byron, BP’s Bernard Looney, and McDonald’s Steve Easterbrook are others who were fired for failing to disclose relationships with colleagues.
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