On September 2, Nestlé China announced that the Nestlé Group's board of directors announced on September 1, 2025 that Philipp Navratil had been appointed as CEO of Nestlé Group, replacing the dismissed Laurent Freixe, effective immediately.

Nestlé Group CEO Fu Lehong was fired one year after taking office (data chart)

Lehong's departure stems from an investigation. The investigation allegedly found that he had an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, in violation of Nestlé 's Code of Business Conduct.

According to public information, Fu Lehong joined Nestlé in 1986 and has worked for more than 40 years. He has served as head of the European region, CEO of the Americas region, and CEO of the Latin America region. In September 2024, Fu Lehong took over as CEO of Nestlé Group.

Under the leadership of Fu Lehong, in March this year, Nestle ́ announced that it had acquired the remaining 40% of Hsu Fu Chi, completing its full ownership. In 2011, Nestle ́ bought a 60% stake in Hsu Fu Chi. So far, the 14-year capital run has officially ended.

According to Nestlé, Philipp joined Nestlé in 2001 as an internal auditor. After taking on multiple commercial roles in Central America, he was appointed market leader for Nestlé Honduras in 2009. In 2013, Philipp was responsible for Mexico's coffee and beverage business and played a key role in strengthening the Nestlé coffee brand.

In 2020, Philipp moved to Nestlé Coffee's Strategic Business Unit, responsible for developing global strategy and driving innovation for the Nescafe and Starbucks coffee brands. He began leading Nespresso in July 2024, accelerating brand growth. Philipp joined the Nestlé Group Executive Board on January 1, 2025.

Regarding this appointment, Philipp said it supports the company's strategic direction and existing performance improvement action plans.

Nestlé Group reported a 1.8% decline in sales during the first half of this year to CHF 44.20 billion. Organic growth was 2.9%, of which real internal growth was 0.2% and pricing contributed 2.7%, reflecting weak consumer demand and the short-term impact of consumers and customers adapting to higher prices.

During the reporting period, Nestlé's organic growth rate in Greater China was-4.2%. Among them, the actual internal growth rate was-1.5%, and the pricing contribution rate was-2.7%. This was due to Nestlé's beginning to adjust its business model and shift to stimulating consumer demand as its core, and sales fell in the second quarter.

Nestlé has a history of nearly 40 years in China and currently operates 23 factories, 5 product innovation centers, and 3 R & D centers.