European food giant Nestlé (NSRGY) has fired CEO Laurent Freixe after a code of conduct breach and named Philipp Navratil as his successor.

Nestlé said Freixe's departure follows an investigation overseen by Board Chair Paul Bulcke into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a subordinate of Freixe. The company said the relationship violated its established code of business conduct.

"This was a necessary decision," said Nestlé in a written statement, adding "Nestlé's values and governance are strong foundations of our company." Navratil becomes the third CEO of Nestlé in a year. Freixe, who was a longtime company insider, took over the CEO role in September 2024 after Nestlé ousted his predecessor Mark Schneider.

Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 as an auditor. After holding various roles in Central America, he was appointed country manager for Nestlé Honduras in 2009. Navratil assumed leadership of the coffee and beverage business in Mexico in 2013, and transitioned to Nestlé's strategic coffee business unit in 2020.

Navratil later moved to Nestlé's Nespresso unit in July 2024 and joined the Nestlé executive board at the start of this year. Based in Switzerland, Nestlé faces numerous issues, including U.S. import tariffs, record high prices for coffee and cocoa beans, and a slowdown in consumer spending. Nestlé products include everything from KitKat chocolate bars to Gerber baby food and Purina dog food.

Currently, only one U.S. analyst follows Nestlé's stock. So instead, we'll look at its three-month share price performance. As one can see in the chart below, NSRGY stock has declined 11.73% in the last 12 weeks.