Inside Nestl\u00e9\u2019s headquarters, products from its extensive array of brands sold around the world are lined along a hallway, organized by the role they serve in a person\u2019s life \u2014 products for infancy, for old age, for healthy eating and satisfying cravings.<\/p>\n
Nestl\u00e9, a 160-year-old Swiss conglomerate, is the world\u2019s largest food company, with around $120 billion in annual sales. In the United States, its largest market, the company\u2019s brands include Nespresso, Gerber, DiGiorno and, for the pets, Purina.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s sales have been sluggish in recent years, as it has struggled to respond to consumers\u2019 changing tastes. And as competitors like Unilever and Kraft Heinz slim down by spinning off units<\/a>, many analysts are skeptical of Nestl\u00e9\u2019s sprawling portfolio.<\/p>\n Nestl\u00e9\u2019s stock has shed roughly half of its value from its peak in 2022.<\/p>\n Philipp Navratil, the company\u2019s new chief executive, says he is taking a hard look at all of those brands. Nestl\u00e9\u2019s water business, which includes Perrier and S. Pellegrino, is on the chopping block<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mr. Navratil\u2019s predecessor, Laurent Freixe, was dismissed after just a year over an undisclosed relationship<\/a> with a subordinate, a breach of the company\u2019s code of conduct. It\u2019s left Mr. Navratil to not only gain the trust of customers and investors but also, perhaps most importantly, that of the 270,000 Nestl\u00e9 employees who are adjusting to an abrupt change in leadership.<\/p>\n But can Mr. Navratil, who has worked for more than 20 years at Nestl\u00e9, including a stint on its board, bring a fresh perspective?<\/p>\n \u201cI can distance myself enough to look at things with different aspects and from different angles,\u201d Mr. Navratil, 49, said.<\/p>\n This interview, conducted at Nestl\u00e9\u2019s headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n You\u2019re the third C.E.O. in a less than two years. Your predecessor left after investigation into misconduct. What were the first steps you took to gain trust after that situation?<\/p>\n Nestl\u00e9 is not used to such turbulent times. We\u2019re a company that should be steady and just deliver what it promises. The most important thing is that when the C.E.O. changes, it doesn\u2019t have to disrupt the whole company.<\/p>\n When I got into my job, I thought, \u201cLet\u2019s take what works, make sure we do more of that, and make sure we communicate really transparently what happened and what we will do.\u201d<\/p>\n How are you ensuring that Nestl\u00e9 is prepared to catch ethical lapses in the future?<\/p>\n We had a C.E.O. change but also we had a change of chairman. That is liberating in a sense, because normally at Nestl\u00e9 you would have the previous C.E.O. becoming chairman. Now we have a new C.E.O. and a new chair. What that gives us is license to look at things without preconceived ideas. Everything is on the table.<\/p>\n Definitely something we need to do is also have less surprises.<\/p>\n While you\u2019re trying to regain trust with employees, the company is going through massive layoffs. You\u2019ve announced 16,000 job cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n We created an organization that was just too big, with too many layers. Today, when you look at A.I., there is a way of working that can be much more clear, fast and agile.<\/p>\n This way of working will obviously require less people, but it will also speed up the company. It will be a growth story about how we use A.I. to grow faster, to make decisions better, to plan throughout the supply chain to have less stock and less waste.<\/p>\n In recent years, we\u2019ve seen food conglomerates sell off units. Is there still value for Nestl\u00e9 to be in so many different businesses?<\/p>\n We\u2019re not as complicated as it seems. It\u2019s coffee, pet food, nutrition, and then what we call food and snacking. Size matters because we can really have good discussions with our big customers \u2014 take Walmart or Amazon \u2014 about different product lines. It also gives you a hedge if anything happens to one of the businesses.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t confuse size with bureaucracy and complexity.<\/p>\n Nestl\u00e9 has many beloved, well-known brands. It must be tough to think about getting rid of any of them.<\/p>\n You have to take a step back.<\/p>\n