Statement from the CEO

Dear fellow shareholders,

As I reflect on my initial months as CEO of Nestlé, I am both honored and invigorated by the opportunity to guide our remarkable company into a new era. Over my 24 years at Nestlé, I have witnessed firsthand the passion and dedication of our people, the deep connection consumers have to our products and brands, and the positive impact we have on communities around the world. Our company’s long history is defined by its ability to evolve and adapt - qualities that have enabled us to thrive across generations and create shared value. It is this same essence that will continue to guide us forward.

Nestlé’s unmatched combination of global presence with local expertise has long been a model for success. Yet, in a world where technology accelerates change at an unprecedented pace, we must become more agile - able to move quickly, seize opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. This requires flawless execution, clear accountabilities, exceptional performance, and a commitment to address underperformance with urgency and rigor.

To accelerate our progress, we are focusing on four clear priorities:

Driving organic sales growth, led by real internal growth

We are adopting a more structured approach to investment, prioritizing our biggest, most strategic consumer platforms. For each of these platforms, we are developing multi-year innovation pipelines grounded in industry-leading consumer insights. Investing at scale in this way, rather than in individual products and brands, will help us redefine what is possible in these areas, achieve breakthroughs and maintain a leadership position year after year.

By coupling such great innovations with outstanding marketing and expanding them across our global brands, we aim to achieve the scale and growth that will keep us at the forefront of our industry. That is why we are also strengthening our marketing capabilities across the organization.

Building a winning portfolio

Our broad portfolio, together with our size and scale, offers us significant competitive advantages: negotiating power, capacity for innovation, strong brand recognition and access to talent. However, these benefits are only realized if every business in our portfolio is attractive and outperforming competitors.

We regularly assess each of our businesses against a set of criteria to determine their potential for success. We take an unbiased, data-driven approach, and if a business does not meet these criteria, we create an action plan for how to move forward. This rigorous approach to addressing underperforming areas is a critical complement to the prioritization of our growth investments in our most promising opportunities.

Cultivating a performance culture

Success starts with transparency and clear accountability. We need to be honest about what is working well and what is not. We have harmonized our key performance indicators globally to ensure that they are forward-looking and focused on innovation and execution. Working together, as a team, to delight consumers and customers to gain market share is our goal.

And performance will be rewarded. We are strengthening the link between compensation and the delivery of results. In particular, personal goals are now more rigorous, measurable and consistent across the Group. We want to foster a performance culture that recognizes and rewards excellence.

Transforming for the future

As we reshape our culture, we are also transforming our business. We need an efficient, effective organization that enables us to work better, smarter and faster with lower costs. We are simplifying our structure, clarifying roles and reducing duplication across the Group. While this will result in some headcount reductions, we are committed to handling these changes with the utmost respect and transparency, supporting affected employees throughout the process.

These steps are necessary to create a leaner, more agile organization - one that is better able to digitalize its operations, automate its processes, embed AI and other new technologies, and fully leverage its shared services. Through these collective measures, we are on track to reduce our costs by CHF 3.0 billion by the end of 2027.

We recognize that the environment in which we operate is not without challenges - market volatility, rapidly evolving consumer expectations and geopolitics, just to name a few. These require our constant attention and flexibility.

In 2025, we laid a strong foundation for long-term success. As we look ahead, accelerating our progress will be essential to achieving our ambitious financial and sustainability goals. The next few years at Nestlé will be marked by change, and our future is promising. I am confident that with our people, capabilities and brands, we are well-positioned to succeed.

I know your expectations are high. Know that my commitment - and that of the rest of the Nestlé team - is just as strong. As we work together to transform Nestlé, Pablo Isla and the Board of Directors are fully aligned with the Executive Board and offer their unwavering support for the urgent execution of our strategic plans. With a future-ready Nestlé, our goal is to continue to deliver value to you, our shareholders, and to all our stakeholders. 

Thank you for your continued trust and support. I invite you to stay engaged with us, as we embark on this exciting new chapter for Nestlé.

Philipp Navratil 
Chief Executive Officer