Nestle shares opened down more than 2.5% after the maker of Nescafe, Cheerios, KitKat, and Rolos dismissed its chief executive after an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with an employee.

On Monday night, Nestle announced that the immediate dismissal of Laurent Freixe, effective immediately, following the investigation into the relationship, with a direct employee, which had breached the company’s code of business conduct.

Money blog: ‘My best friend didn’t give me a wedding gift – what should I do?’

The replacement for Mr Freixe was announced as being Philipp Navratil, a long-time Nestle executive and former head of Nespresso, the brand of coffee machines owned by Nestle.

It’s the second CEO departure from the Swiss food giant in a year.

Image:
Nestle’s chief executive, Laurent Freixe. File pic: Reuters

Mr Freixe’s predecessor, Mark Schneider, was suddenly removed a year ago, and in June, the longstanding chair, Paul Bulcke, announced he would step down in 2026.

No further detail on the relationship was released by the company, nor was additional information on whom the person Mr Freixe had the relationship with.

Mr Bulcke, who led the investigation, said: “This was a necessary decision. Nestle’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his years of service at Nestle.”

Mr Freixe had been with Nestle since 1986, holding roles around the world, including chief executive of Zone Latin America.

Read more:
Thames Water creditors offer £1bn ‘sweetener’
Empty flats that developers say sum up UK’s housing crisis

Nestle’s shares, a bedrock of the Swiss stock exchange, lost almost a third of their value over the past five years, performing worse than other European stocks.

The appointment of Mr Freixe’s had failed to halt the slide, and the company’s shares shed 17% during his leadership, disappointing investors.