The annual general meeting of Nestlé shareholders has ratified Pablo Isla as chairman of the food group. The Spanish executive already took office on October 1st, when turmoil at the company’s top accelerated his appointment, after it was discovered that the then CEO, Laurent Freixe, was involved in a relationship with a subordinate. This led to his resignation and, shortly after, that of the chairman, Paul Bulcke.
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However, he was still awaiting final ratification by the shareholders, which took place this Thursday, although Nestlé has not yet made public the voting percentages on the various items on the agenda. One of these was the re-election of Isla as director, a position he has held since 2018, as well as his appointment as chairman. “I take on the chairmanship of Nestlé with humility and appreciation for this great legacy,” Isla said in the speech delivered to the shareholders, referring to Nestlé’s historical journey.
The Spanish executive, former president of Inditex, is the first to become chairman of Nestlé without having held a prior executive position in the company in 25 years. “I come from outside Nestlé. As the first independent chairman in 25 years, I bring a fresh and objective perspective to define the company’s future,” he explained in his address at the meeting. “We are at an important moment. We have navigated a period of turbulence. Our operating environment remains marked by disruption, technological advances, economic pressures, and geopolitical uncertainty,” he added.
Isla, as he did in the letter included in the group’s annual report published in February, recalled his past at Inditex, noting how the textile giant faced the same dynamics now confronting Nestlé: “A rapid evolution of consumer preferences, technological advances, and very complex supply chains. Finding ways to overcome these challenges and move forward has shaped my approach to leadership and transformation.”
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At one point in his speech, when talking about this path of transformation, Pablo Isla quoted a passage from Don Quixote: “As Don Quixote tells Sancho, ‘each one is the architect of his own fortune’. At Nestlé, each of us has the power and responsibility to shape the destiny of our company.”
In recent months, the executive has prioritized changes in the group’s governance to avoid controversies like those that arose last year. He has appointed two new directors, Fama Francisco and Thomas Jordan, ratified today; increased the number of board meetings to “raise participation,” and reviewed the structures and responsibilities of the committees, so that each director is part of at least two of them. “My experience has taught me that strong governance is the cornerstone of long-term success. It requires clarity, transparency, and accountability,” he emphasized before the shareholders.
At the meeting, 1,150 Nestlé shareholders were present, representing 54.6% of the capital and 74.6% of the voting rights. They approved all items on the agenda, including the payment of a dividend of 3.10 Swiss francs per share, about 3.3 euros at the current exchange rate.
