Nestle sacks the boss after a romantic relationship with an employee

Nestle fired the executive director only after a year's work because he didn't discover a “romantic relationship”, with a “direct”.

Swiss food giant, which produces Kit Kat and Nespresso coffee capsule, said Laurent Freixe has been fired with an immediate <x0 effective”, following an investigation led by Nestle's chairman and chief independent director.

The BBC finds that the investigation was triggered by a report carried out through the company's informative channel, it broadcasts Telegrafi.

Nestle Mayor Paul Bulcke said: “This was a necessary decision. Nestl's values and governance are the solid foundations of our company. I thank Laurent for his service years at Nestlé”.

The BBC has learned that the relationship was with an employee who is not on the executive board and the investigation began because it represented an interest conflict.

Besides Bulcke, independent director Pablo Isla oversaw the investigation into Freixe “with the support of independent foreign advisers”.

Freixe had been with Nestle for nearly 40 years, but climbed into the role of global executive director last September, replacing Mark Schweider.

Philip Navratil, who has been with Nestle since 2001, has been appointed as the successor of Freixe. Bulcke said the company “was not changing the course of strategy and we would not lose the rhythm in performance”.

Nestle confirmed that Freixe would not get a package of departure./Periscopi/