Dive Brief:
- Nestle SA announced its new CFO, François-Xavier Roger, who will replace former CFO Wan Ling Martello, the new head of Nestle's Asia-Oceania-Africa business. Roger's new position is effective July 1.
- Nestle announced another change in senior management, the appointment of Magdi Batato to succeed José Lopez as executive vice president in charge of operations. Lopez is retiring after a 36-year career with the company, and Batato will officially assume his position in October.
- Both Roger and Batato will be named to Nestle's executive board.
Dive Insight:
Recently, Nestle has tended to appoint CFOs who originate from outside of the company, and Roger is no exception. He is currently the CFO at Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of Japan and was previously the CFO for telecom company Millicom International Cellular SA. But he has experience in the food industry as well, having served as CFO for Danone Asia and later head of finance, treasury, and tax for the Danone Group, based in Paris, from 2000 to 2008. This extensive financial background, particularly in the fields of food and pharmaceuticals, translates nicely into Nestle's focus on nutrition, health, and wellness.
Batato, however, does come from within the company as the current market head of Nestlé Pakistan. Batato's long career with Nestle began in 1991 when he joined as an engineer, and he has since moved his way up through the ranks. During that time, he held factory and production management positions in Germany, Lebanon, South Africa, Malaysia, the UK, and Ireland before assuming his current position in Pakistan in May 2012. This lends a unique background and global insight into the company, for both developed and emerging markets, which will be applied to his new more centralized role overseeing the company's operations.