Nestle finds a successor for CEO slot.
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007In the September 24 Barron’s, we learned that Paul Polman, Nestlé’s CFO, did not get the CEO slot. On Sept. 3 the magazine gave him more than a passing shot for the top slot. Instead, Paul Bulcke, head of North and South America, a veteran of 20 years, became Nestle CEO.
Polman was a recent addition to Nestle, having come over from Procter & Gamble. Old-line Swiss companies, such as Nestle, rarely hand over the reins to a newcomer. One can only be curious why the politics of this succession were given such play in Barron’s. Even more curious is that both issues mention Nestle owns 29 percent of L’Oreal.
On Sept. 24, we now learn that Nestlé’s lock-up with the founding Bettencourt family expires in 2009. It does appear investment banking interests have been fueling rumors between the Paris-based cosmetics giant and the Swiss juggernaut.