Nestlé has announced a reorganisation of its infant nutrition business and the departure of its chief technology officer in the latest strategy changes by new chief executive Mark Schneider.
The Swiss company said its baby foods business, around which it was founded more than 150 years ago, would in future be regionally rather the globally managed. The move, announced on Wednesday, is the latest attempt by the world’s big consumer groups to shorten reporting lines in order to compete better with local rivals and start-ups.
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and drinks company. Mr Schneider, who took over as Nestlé boss at the start of the year, has identified infant nutrition as future growth opportunity. Nestlé said heads of the infant foods business would be appointed for each of the Europe, Americas and Asia regions. Nestlé Nutrition had sales of SFr 10.3bn last year and operating profit margins of 22.7 per cent.
Heiko Schipper, head of Nestlé Nutrition, will leave the Swiss group at the end of the year to head the consumer health division at Bayer, the German drugs group. Separately, Nestlé said Stefan Catsicas, chief technology officer, was leaving to “pursue entrepreneurial and venture capital activities” outside the group. He will be replaced by Stefan Palzer, head of its research centre.
Nestlé is braced for overall sales growth this year to weaken further from 2016’s historical low. Mr Schneider has promised to boost the pace of expansion by focusing on markets for coffee, pet care and bottled waters as well as infant nutrition. But he has also shifted the Swiss group away from its focus on sales, and has set for the first time a target for increasing profit margins.
So, two executive VPs are added to the ever-growing list of people leaving to follow exciting opportunities, or spending more time with their family, or taking early retirement. There’s a serious tree-shaking exercise at the top, and we have no bloody clue what that’s going to mean for us peons.