The Chocolate Lover
Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe just joined a litany of top executives who've lost their jobs to love
“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” – Mark Twain
Love requires sacrifice, but usually not millions of dollars in lost compensation a year. Let’s hope that in the case of Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe it is true love.
The world’s largest food company on Monday announced that it fired Freixe for “an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate” that violated its code of conduct.
Freixe had only been CEO since September 2024, but based on available compensation reports it looks like he just lost a gig that paid about $13 million in total annual compensation.
In the chocolate biz, that is one heaping pile of 100 Grand Bars.
You’d think by age 63 you could finally settle down or at least temper your beating heart.
Freixe has just made the Blunder List of top executives who’ve lost their jobs, and their dignity, for inappropriate and undisclosed relationships.
It’s getting to be a long list.
So far, no one has forgotten Astronomer CEO Andy Byron’s tryst with his human resource executive Kristin Cabot. The pair lost their jobs after they were caught in July canoodling on the jumbotron at a Coldplay concert.
Then there’s Kohl’s CEO Ashley Buchanan who was fired in May. He was awarded a compensation package worth well over $20 million to become the struggling retailer’s third CEO in less than three years. Then he handed his girlfriend a multimillion-dollar consulting contract without disclosing his involvement with her, as required by the company’s ethics policy.
And one year ago this month, Norfolk Southern fired its CEO Alan Shaw for a tryst with the railroad’s Chief Legal Officer Nabanita Nag. Shaw was making $13.4 million in annual compensation. What a staggering waste of investors’ money.
Unlike many CEOs who go down in a burst of flames, Freixe has kept a low profile.
He joined Nestlé in 1986 and worked his way through the executive ranks. He’s well-educated, speaks four languages, and spits out corporate platitudes like, “We are determined to regain this trust, and to again become the benchmark in our industry.”
Beyond his resume, we don’t know much about him. He’s barely made a digital footprint. We don’t even know who his romantic interest is or what this costly relationship entailed. As they say in the candy business, he’s kept everything under wraps.
Freixe hasn’t been in the job long enough to turn the tide on Nestlé’s sagging fortunes, but with his mind on a secret dalliance, who knows if he could have succeeded.
His replacement, Philipp Navratil, 49, is the company’s third CEO in two years. And Navratil is yet another Nestlé insider so all we can do is wish him luck.
Nestlé stock is down more than 30% since 2022, plagued by slowing sales and rising cocoa prices. It’s also facing a Perrier scandal. Yes, a Perrier scandal!
French authorities are investigating whether the company has been filtering its line of fine mineral waters to hide contamination. Apparently, mineral water is supposed to come up and be bottled clean. That’s why you pay a premium for it.
In France, they’re calling it “Watergate.” If only U.S. scandals were just this quaint.
As for Friexe, he must be one of those CEOs who doesn’t always consider what he’s signing. His signature is on company’s Code of Business Conduct published for all employees to follow. It reads:
“Be transparent and honest about conflict-of-interest situations. Where conflicts exist, appear to exist, or where they may develop, disclose them promptly to your manager or Legal and Compliance following local procedures so the conflicts can be managed.
“Do not let your decisions at Nestlé be influenced by personal considerations, such as outside activities, financial interests or personal relationships. Withdraw from any decision-making process if you think your judgment may be compromised.”
The Code of Conduct begins with a letter signed by both Freixe and Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke, who ended up firing Freixe, that reads:
“If you observe or suspect behavior that is in breach of our Code or the law, you must speak up. Rest assured that if you raise honest concerns about misconduct at Nestlé, you will be heard.”
Well, it looks like someone did speak up and indeed they were heard.
What is it with some of these CEOs, anyway? They want everyone to follow the rules, but they don’t want to lead by example? They’re paid fortunes to manage corporate risks, but they can’t even manage personal ones?
Freixe should have watched his own Butterfinger commercials: “Nobody better lay a finger …”
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Frieixe is both West German and Swiss and extremely well-educated as you point out, Al. And as such, these individuals are typically very discreet. However, when the love bug bites, best to keep the Crunch bar under wraps!
Al, always loved your comments from our Denver Post days with the Enron fiasco
JohnBishop