(Reuters) – Nestle’s stock market fell on Friday after announcing the abrupt departure of its chief executive, Mark Schneider, and his immediate replacement by Laurent Freixe.

The departure of Mark Schneider, 58, was announced late Thursday following a meeting of Nestlé’s board of directors, ending a nearly eight-year tenure at the helm of the maker of the Nespresso, KitKat and Perrier brands.

The announcement surprised investors, who had lost confidence in Mark Schneider over the past 15 months.

On the Zurich Stock Exchange, at around 08:55 GMT, Nestlé shares fell by 2.15% to 87.52 Swiss francs, compared to a loss of 0.15% for the SMI at the same time.

Laurent Freixe, a 62-year-old Frenchman with extensive experience at Nestlé, has already taken up his new role, with the mission of regaining market share and increasing sales volumes in a difficult context.

“We want to gain market share and that comes down to investing in our brands. That comes down to investing in our growth platforms,” ​​Laurent Freixe told analysts on Friday.

“The focus will be on developing the current portfolio. Organic growth is key. The portfolio could of course be subject to adjustments, but the top priority remains organic growth,” he added.

Laurent Freixe is used to difficult times, having led Nestlé’s European operations in the wake of the financial crisis.

Most recently, he led Nestlé’s Latin America region, which experienced strong growth under his leadership.

“With Laurent Freixe at the head of Nestlé, the priority will be to return to its roots, to its fundamentals. He is a sales and marketing man who has a real passion for products,” said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, analyst at Vontobel.

(Written by Pauline Foret, with contributions from John Revill and Dave Graham, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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