Nestlé USA names Martin Thompson as CEO

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Dive Brief:

• Nestlé USA appointed Martin Thompson as CEO starting in January. He will report to Steve Presley who will oversee Latin America and North America for Nestlé.

• Thompson joined Nestlé as a part of the company’s acquisition of the Starbucks consumer packaged goods and foodservice products business in 2018. He was appointed president of Nestlé Coffee Partners two years later, putting him in charge of brands such as Nescafé, Starbucks at Home and Seattle’s Best.

• The appointment is the latest C-suite change by Nestlé during the last three months as the Hot Pockets and Tombstone manufacturer struggles with slowing sales growth.

Dive Insight:

Nestlé has been actively overhauling its business in the second half of 2024.

In August, the Switzerland-based CPG giant named company veteran Laurent Freixe as CEO. Two months later, it overhauled its organizational structure and executive board to increase simplicity and speed up decision-making. Then in November, Nestlé said it would cut at least $2.8 billion in costs by 2027 and separate its waters and premium beverages business into a standalone business beginning in 2025. 

Nestlé has been hit hard as consumers cut back on spending, slicing into demand for many of its products, such as frozen foods like pizza.

It cut its sales guidance in October for the full year to 2%, which would be the lowest annual rate since at least the turn of the century. In North America, which accounts for more than a quarter of its sales, Nestlé noted that organic growth declined 0.3% for the nine-month period to $21.4 billion.

A common theme for its recent executive changes is that Nestlé has promoted from within, with Thompson’s appointment following that pattern.

As food and beverage companies respond to changing consumer buying habits and food consumption patterns, having an executive in Thompson who understands the U.S. market and has successfully grown one of Nestlé’s key businesses in coffee will likely prove crucial to helping the company rebound.  

Presley, who currently oversees the U.S. as part of his North American responsibilities, will soon add the company’s operations in Latin America to his duties. Following the announcement, Nestlé decided to appoint a new CEO to handle its U.S. business.

Under Thompson’s leadership, Nestlé said the coffee division served as a key growth driver for its U.S. business, delivering consecutive years of profitable growth and market share gains.

“For the last several years Marty has led one of our most successful businesses, cementing our position as undisputed leaders in the coffee category,” Presley said in a statement. “He was instrumental in doubling our Starbucks business globally in just four years and leading the expansion of Nescafé in the U.S. market.”

Thompson has more than 35 years of working in the CPG space, with experience in sales, marketing and general management. Before joining Nestlé, Thompson served as CEO of Ghirardelli Chocolate, and he has held several leadership roles at Clorox and Procter & Gamble.