Philipp Navratil career summary
- Philipp Navratil has been named Nestlé’s new CEO after Laurent Freixe’s dismissal
- He is the company’s third CEO in just two turbulent years
- Navratil has global experience and is fluent in five languages
- He has extensive experience in coffee and beverages, having led Nescafé Mexico, Nespresso and the company’s global coffee strategy
- His in-tray includes Nestlé’s “watergate” scandal, high cocoa and coffee prices, slowing sales and a declining share price
Philipp Navratil has been confirmed as Nestlé’s new CEO. Stepping up to the top job after his predecessor, Laurent Freixe, was dismissed due to an “undisclosed romantic relationship” with a direct subordinate, Navratil is the company’s third CEO in two years.
The company veteran has a herculean task ahead of him. But how will his experience equip him for such a task?
An accomplished operator
Navratil is an accomplished operator. He is, according to the company he now runs, renowned for his “dynamic presence” and leads with a “collaborative, inclusive management style”.
A Swiss and Austrian citizen, he is a native-level speaker of English, German, Spanish and Italian, and proficient in French. His experience in Nestlé is global.
While Navratil joined Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor, it wasn’t long before he was managing company projects around the world.
His career first took him to Central America, where he oversaw the regional marketing of milk powders in Panama and worked as a country manager in Honduras, responsible for full operation and P&L for the company.
A career focused on coffee and beverages
Eventually, he carved out a niche in coffee and beverages. From 2013, he led the coffee and beverage business in Mexico, overseeing the strengthening of the Nescafé brand there.
Following this, he led the company’s Coffee Strategic Business Unit from 2020, where he was in charge of global strategy and innovation for the Nescafé and Starbucks brands.
All this culminated when just last year he was made CEO of Nespresso, shortly before joining Nestlé’s executive board in January 2025.
Experience with beverages may be needed as Nestlé faces pressures on several fronts. On the one hand, the growing “watergate” scandal, which has seen the company’s water division investigated for illegal filtration, still looms large. On the other, international coffee prices are still high and putting pressure on margins, forcing the company to implement pricing actions.
Furthermore, Nestlé is still plagued by slowing sales, historically high cocoa prices and a falling share price, which has been flagging under both Freixe and his predecessor, Mark Schneider.
