The former CEO of Nestle, who was fired for a secret affair with an employee, had fallen in love with the marketing worker before she was promoted to Vice President of Americas Marketing just 18 months after they met, it has emerged.

Laurent Freixe, 63, lost his job on Monday after the world’s biggest food and drink company said he broke its code of conduct by failing to disclose the affair.

The French-born executive had been CEO for only a year. An investigation by external lawyers confirmed what the company called an ‘undisclosed romantic relationship’, making his position untenable, Nestle said.

Although the firm has not named the woman involved in the scandal, Swiss outlet Inside Paradeplatz reported in July that Freixe ‘had allegedly fallen in love with a marketing employee at the company.’

The site claimed the pair first met in 2022 at the headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland.

About 18 months later, she became Vice President of Marketing for the Americas, when Freixe was running that division. It is suspected he personally approved the promotion, although that has not been confirmed.

It remains unclear if the two were in a relationship when she was promoted. The board was told about the romance in May after reports surfaced internally.

A Nestle spokesperson told news agency AWP, according to SRF, that an initial inquiry ‘failed to substantiate the suspicion.’

+4
View gallery

The former CEO of Nestle, who was fired for a secret affair with an employee, had fallen in love with the marketing worker before she was promoted to Vice President of Americas Marketing just 18 months after they met

+4
View gallery

The French-born executive had been CEO for only a year. An investigation by external lawyers confirmed what the company called an ‘undisclosed romantic relationship’, making his position untenable

After further information came in, a broader investigation confirmed the affair, but the company has not said how it gathered evidence.

The woman is no longer at Nestle and reportedly left at the end of June.

But Inside Paradeplatz also suggested this was not Freixe’s first workplace romance.

A decade ago, he allegedly had an affair with a younger colleague while working for Nestle in Hungary. In 2017, the two went public as a couple and later married, and she quit the company shortly afterwards.

Freixe joined Nestlé in 1986 and climbed the ranks during his 39-year career – he only managed to hold the top job for 12 months and will not receive severance pay. He is the second chief executive in just over a year to be forced out.

The company has faced several scandals in recent years. Chairman Paul Bulcke, who was one of the leaders of Freixe’s investigation, was accused in a harassment lawsuit during his time as CEO from 2008 to 2016.

Whistleblower Yasmine Motarjemi said she warned Nestle about safety issues in baby food and alleged she was targeted in retaliation. The company settled in 2020 by paying her about $2.5 million.

She reacted furiously to Freixe’s ousting, writing on LinkedIn: ‘What hypocrisy! In other words, at Nestlé, you can harass your subordinates, but you can’t love them.’

In recent years, Nestle has faced several scandals, including an employee accusing its former CEO of harassment

Freixe replaced Mark Schneider, who was removed last year after a seven-year stint.

Schneider came under fire for continuing to sell products in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

Nestle has not commented on the details of Freixe’s affair but confirmed he was dismissed after breaking its rules on ethics and governance.

Freixe’s dismissal comes as the company struggles to keep up with rivals.

Nestle still dominates supermarket shelves in the US with brands like Gerber, Purina, Nescafé and KitKat, but its sales are slipping.

In July, global sales dropped 1.8 per cent. Rising production costs for sugary and caffeinated products from Central America have added pressure.