Nestle nominates ex-Zara boss Pablo Isla to replace Paul Bulcke as chair

ZURICH (Reuters) -Nestle said on Wednesday it would propose vice chairman Pablo Isla to be its next chairman as the Swiss food giant announced that current chair and company veteran Paul Bulcke will stand down in April 2026.

Isla, a Spaniard who was CEO of Zara owner Inditex from 2005 to 2011 and chairman and CEO of Inditex from 2011 to 2022, joined Nestle's board of directors in 2018.

Bulcke, a 70-year-old Belgian and Swiss national who has been chairman of the board since April 2017, joined Nestle in 1979 and served as the company's CEO from 2008 to 2016.

Nominating Isla breaks with Nestle's recent tradition of putting former CEOs into the chairman's seat. Bulcke's predecessor as chairman, Peter Brabeck, was also a former CEO. So too was another noted former chairman, Helmut Maucher.

Bulcke's departure will complete a shake-up of the top jobs at Nestle after Mark Schneider was eased out as CEO last summer following a period of lacklustre performance by the company.

Schneider gave way to company veteran Laurent Freixe, whose tenure at the helm this year has seen Nestle's share price recoup some of the ground it lost in 2024.

In a statement, Isla thanked the board for his nomination and said he looked forward to working with Freixe.

"I am enthusiastic about taking on this new role, as I fully identify with Nestle's Nutrition, Health and Wellness strategy and its Creating Shared Value approach to business," he said.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar; Additional reporting by John RevillEditing by Dave Graham and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)