Swiss food giant Nestlé will hand over the management of its finances to Anna Manz, the current chief financial officer of the London Stock Exchange, with some analysts seeing it as an effort to increase the representation of women in key positions. The 50-year-old British national, who has spent a large part of her career with the Diageo spirits group (owner of the Guinness beer and Johnnie Walker whisky brands), will succeed Frenchman François-Xavier Roger (61), whose departure was surprising.
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Based in London until May 2024
The latter, who was chief financial officer for eight years, wants to leave the company "to pursue new professional opportunities," Nestlé said in a statement. François-Xavie Roger will remain in his post until the arrival of Anna Manz to ensure "a smooth transition", adds Nestlé, without specifying a date of passing of the torch. The London Stock Exchange had announced the departure of Anna Manz last week, indicating that she would remain in office during the twelve months of her notice, that is to say until May 2024.
In the statement, Mark Schneider, the boss of Nestlé, highlights "his in-depth knowledge of the consumer goods industry". Before taking over the finance management of the London Stock Exchange in November 2020, Anna Manz had led the finances of the British chemical group Johnson Matthey for more than four years. Prior to that, she spent 17 years at Diageo, where she held the positions of Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Financial Officer of Asia Pacific and Treasurer.
A "very complementary tandem"
Mark Schneider also praised the contribution of Francois-Xavier Roger who has led Nestlé in a macroeconomic environment "very uncertain over the last three years". This Frenchman, who worked for the Japanese laboratory Takeda Pharmaceuticals but also the French multinational food company Danone, is to join the board of directors of Sandoz, a subsidiary of the Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis to be listed separately on the stock exchange.
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We are disappointed to see François-Xavier Roger go," said Martin Deboo, analyst at Jefferies, in a stock market commentary, believing that he formed "an effective partnership" with Mark Schneider. However, he says he has a "positive impression of Anna Manz". At 10:39 GMT, the share lost 2.25% to 109.54 Swiss francs while the SMI was down 0.50%.
Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Vontobel, also notes that Mr. Roger formed a "very complementary tandem" with the boss of the group. But "we welcome the choice of a woman as the new CFO," the analyst added in a market note, increasing diversity being "one of Nestlé's top priorities." He is confident in Ms. Manz's ability to take over.
Currently, Nestlé has only three women on its 16-person management committee. Last week, however, the group that owns Nespresso coffee pods and Maggi broths announced that the operational management, whose mission includes supervising the plants, would be entrusted to Stephanie Pullings Hart, a former executive of the company who has meanwhile spent part of her career at the American manufacturer of meat alternatives Beyond Meat.