Nestlé Nominates Former Swiss Central Bank Chief Thomas Jordan to Board as Governance Overhaul Takes Shape

The glass-fronted headquarters on Lake Geneva's northern shore have weathered eighteen months of leadership upheaval that would have broken lesser companies. On Wednesday evening, Nestlé signaled that the worst may be over — or at least that the adults have arrived to clean up the mess.

The world's largest food company announced it has nominated Thomas Jordan, former chairman of the Swiss National Bank's governing board, and Ma. Fatima D. (Fama) Francisco, chief executive of Procter & Gamble's Global Baby, Feminine and Family Care business, for election to its board of directors at the annual general meeting on April 16 Thomas Jordan soll Nestlé-Verwaltungsrat werdennzz.ch·SecondaryNeuer Nestlé-Präsident Pablo Isla: Der Mann, der den Peinlichkeiten bei dem Lebensmittelkonzern ein Ende setzen mussMoritz Kaufmann 17.09.20254 min. The nominations arrive alongside a significant restructuring of the board's committee architecture, representing the most comprehensive governance reform Nestlé has undertaken in years.

Jordan's nomination carries particular weight in Switzerland. The 63-year-old economist led the SNB from 2012 to 2024, navigating the Swiss franc shock of 2015, the pandemic-era monetary response, and the inflationary surge that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine Thomas Jordan soll Nestlé-Verwaltungsrat werdennzz.ch·SecondaryNeuer Nestlé-Präsident Pablo Isla: Der Mann, der den Peinlichkeiten bei dem Lebensmittelkonzern ein Ende setzen mussMoritz Kaufmann 17.09.20254 min. He represented Switzerland at the International Monetary Fund, served on the board of the Bank for International Settlements, and sat on the steering committee of the Financial Stability Board Thomas Jordan: Nestlé nominiert früheren SNB-Präsident für den Verwaltungsrattagesanzeiger.ch·SecondaryDer grösste Lebensmittelhersteller der Welt hat zwei Kandidaten für den Verwaltungsrat bekannt gegeben. Einer davon ist in der Schweiz bestens bekannt. Der im vergangenen Jahr von einer Führungskrise durchgeschüttelte Nahrungsmittelkonzern Nestlé hat Änderungen an den Verwaltungsratsprozessen beschlossen und zwei neue Mitglieder nominiert. Zur Wahl an der Generalversammlung vom 16.. Since leaving the central bank, he has joined the board of insurance giant Zurich, but Nestlé marks his entry into the consumer goods sector — and arguably the most consequential Swiss corporate boardroom outside finance.

Francisco, for her part, brings three decades of consumer goods expertise at Procter & Gamble, where she rose from the company's first female sales manager in the Philippines in 1989 to running a global business unit. She has been named to Fortune's Top 50 Most Powerful Women International list three times Thomas Jordan: Nestlé nominiert früheren SNB-Präsident für den Verwaltungsrattagesanzeiger.ch·SecondaryDer grösste Lebensmittelhersteller der Welt hat zwei Kandidaten für den Verwaltungsrat bekannt gegeben. Einer davon ist in der Schweiz bestens bekannt. Der im vergangenen Jahr von einer Führungskrise durchgeschüttelte Nahrungsmittelkonzern Nestlé hat Änderungen an den Verwaltungsratsprozessen beschlossen und zwei neue Mitglieder nominiert. Zur Wahl an der Generalversammlung vom 16.. Her operational knowledge of brand management, supply chains, and emerging market dynamics addresses a gap that Nestlé's board critics have long identified.

Chairman Pablo Isla framed the appointments as part of a broader effort to strengthen corporate governance, citing the addition of an independent chair, a lead independent director, two vice chairs, and a new CEO as evidence that the company has improved oversight across multiple dimensions Thomas Jordan: Nestlé nominiert früheren SNB-Präsident für den Verwaltungsrattagesanzeiger.ch·SecondaryDer grösste Lebensmittelhersteller der Welt hat zwei Kandidaten für den Verwaltungsrat bekannt gegeben. Einer davon ist in der Schweiz bestens bekannt. Der im vergangenen Jahr von einer Führungskrise durchgeschüttelte Nahrungsmittelkonzern Nestlé hat Änderungen an den Verwaltungsratsprozessen beschlossen und zwei neue Mitglieder nominiert. Zur Wahl an der Generalversammlung vom 16.. The tone of Nestlé's announcement read as much like a defense brief as a press release — understandable given the year the company has endured.

The governance restructuring announced alongside the nominations is substantial. The board's current Sustainability Committee will be expanded into a Science, Technology and Sustainability Committee, reflecting a push to integrate research and development oversight with environmental and social mandates . More significantly, the Chair's and Corporate Governance Committee will be dissolved entirely. Its finance responsibilities will transfer to a new Audit and Finance Committee, while its governance duties migrate to a newly combined Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee Thomas Jordan soll Nestlé-Verwaltungsrat werdennzz.ch·SecondaryNeuer Nestlé-Präsident Pablo Isla: Der Mann, der den Peinlichkeiten bei dem Lebensmittelkonzern ein Ende setzen mussMoritz Kaufmann 17.09.20254 min.

Every board member will now sit on at least two committees, a departure from standard Swiss corporate practice where non-executive directors often limit their committee exposure. The move is designed to increase engagement and improve the quality of recommendations reaching the full board Thomas Jordan: Nestlé nominiert früheren SNB-Präsident für den Verwaltungsrattagesanzeiger.ch·SecondaryDer grösste Lebensmittelhersteller der Welt hat zwei Kandidaten für den Verwaltungsrat bekannt gegeben. Einer davon ist in der Schweiz bestens bekannt. Der im vergangenen Jahr von einer Führungskrise durchgeschüttelte Nahrungsmittelkonzern Nestlé hat Änderungen an den Verwaltungsratsprozessen beschlossen und zwei neue Mitglieder nominiert. Zur Wahl an der Generalversammlung vom 16.. If approved at the AGM, the board would expand to thirteen independent members.

The context for these changes could hardly be more dramatic. Nestlé's leadership has been in near-constant flux since mid-2024. CEO Mark Schneider was replaced by company veteran Laurent Freixe in September 2024. Freixe lasted barely a year before being dismissed in September 2025 after an investigation revealed an undisclosed romantic relationship, a breach of the company's code of conduct Thomas Jordan soll Nestlé-Verwaltungsrat werdennzz.ch·SecondaryNeuer Nestlé-Präsident Pablo Isla: Der Mann, der den Peinlichkeiten bei dem Lebensmittelkonzern ein Ende setzen mussMoritz Kaufmann 17.09.20254 min. He received no exit package. Philipp Navratil, another internal candidate, was swiftly appointed as his replacement. Chairman Paul Bulcke then stepped down six months early in October 2025, with Isla — the former Inditex chief credited with turning Zara into a global powerhouse — taking the reins Thomas Jordan soll Nestlé-Verwaltungsrat werdennzz.ch·SecondaryNeuer Nestlé-Präsident Pablo Isla: Der Mann, der den Peinlichkeiten bei dem Lebensmittelkonzern ein Ende setzen mussMoritz Kaufmann 17.09.20254 min.

For investors, the turmoil has been punishing. Nestlé's share price has significantly underperformed the European consumer staples sector over the period, weighed down not just by governance concerns but by falling volumes, cost pressures, and volatile consumer demand across key markets. The appointment of a former central banker and a seasoned consumer goods operator to the board is clearly intended to reassure institutional shareholders that the new leadership team is serious about oversight.

But the Jordan nomination also raises questions that Swiss corporate governance watchers have debated for decades: the revolving door between the country's regulatory institutions and its largest corporations. Jordan left the SNB less than two years ago. While there is no formal cooling-off period for former SNB chairs joining corporate boards — unlike the restrictions that apply to former Federal Reserve officials in the United States — critics argue that the optics matter. The SNB's monetary policy decisions directly affect Nestlé's borrowing costs, currency exposure, and competitive position. Jordan now sits on the boards of both Zurich Insurance and, pending shareholder approval, Nestlé — two of Switzerland's five largest companies by market capitalization.

Defenders of the appointment counter that Jordan's macroeconomic expertise is precisely what Nestlé's board needs at a moment of global uncertainty. With trade policy in flux, central banks diverging on interest rate paths, and commodity prices volatile, having someone who has sat across the table from the world's most powerful policymakers brings irreplaceable perspective. The fact that he has already served on the Zurich board for nearly a year without controversy also cuts against suggestions that the move is premature.

Proxy advisory firms will likely scrutinize the nominations closely ahead of the April vote. ISS and Glass Lewis have both flagged Nestlé's governance as an area of concern in recent years, and the rapid succession of leadership changes has done nothing to quiet those worries. The committee restructuring may satisfy some critics, but the proof will be in execution — whether the new structure produces genuinely better oversight or simply reorganizes the deck chairs.

Navratil, who has been CEO for less than six months, faces an investor base that has run out of patience. The company's next earnings release will be closely watched for signs that the operational problems that predated the governance crisis are being addressed. Adding Francisco's consumer goods expertise and Jordan's financial acumen to the board provides Navratil with experienced advisors, but it also raises the bar for what shareholders expect from the company's strategic direction.

For Switzerland's corporate establishment, the Nestlé board nominations represent something of a statement. The country's largest companies have traditionally drawn their non-executive directors from a relatively small pool of business elites, regulators, and academics. Jordan's move from the SNB to Zurich to Nestlé follows a well-worn path. Whether that path leads to better governance or merely reinforces the cosiness of Switzerland Inc. remains an open question — one that shareholders will begin to answer on April 16.