Nestle has fired his chief executive after just one year in a job as he failed to reveal “romantic relations” with “direct subordinate”.
Swiss food giants, which creates the kit cat chocolate bar and Nesspresso coffee capsules, stated that Laurent Frex was rejected with “immediate effect” after an investigation led by the Nestle’s chair and the chief independent director.
The BBC understands that the investigation started with a report made through the company’s whistleblowing channel.
Nestle’s chairman Paul Bulk said: “It was an essential decision. Nestle’s value and governance is the strong foundation of our company. I thank Laurent for the years of his service in Nestle.”
The relationship was with an employee who is not on the Executive Board and the investigation began as it represented the conflict of interest, the BBC has learned.
Also, Mr. Bulke, Independent Director Pablo Isla investigated Mr. Freak’s “inquiry with the support of the independent external lawyer”.
The Financial Times has reported that concerns were raised about Mr. Freak’s relationship with an employee earlier this year and after an internal investigation, the claims were found to be unbalanced.
After the complaints continued, the newspaper reports that Nestle conducted another investigation with the help of an external lawyer, after which the claims were retained.
A Nestle spokesperson said: “We worked at all the time the best practice corporate administration.
“External investigation was opened immediately after the initial internal investigation, and today’s decision shows that we are taking allegations and investigations seriously.”
Mr. Freix was with Nestle for nearly 40 years, but in the last September stepped for the global main executive role, replacing Mark Schneider.
Nestle confirmed that he would not get a exhaust package.
The BBC has approached Mr. Freaks for comment.
Philip Navratri, who has been with Nestle since 2001, has been appointed as the successor of Sri Freax.
Mr. Bulak said that the company was “not changing the syllabus on the strategy and we would not lose pace on the performance”.
Mr. Bulk is ready to step down as a chair next year and Mr. Isla, former owner of Zara-Malik Inditex, has been proposed as his replacement.
Other companies have participated with their main officials after examining their personal relations with colleagues.
BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard LoniThose who led the oil legend for three years left after accepting that he was not initially “completely transparent”.
Steve Easterbrook was fired by McDonald’s In 2019, it was found that he had a consensus with an employee.
But McDonald’s stated that another investigation found that the British executive had three additional relations.
He initially received $ 105m (£ 77.5m) in a severed package, which he later returned. In 2023, he was fined $ 400,000 by US Financial Watchdog for misleading investors. He paid the punishment without accepting or denying the claims.
Additional reporting by Dearbel Jordan.
