Nestlé said Sanjay Bahadur will be taking a “well-deserved retirement” at the end of December 2025 after a distinguished career of more than 40 years at the food giant.
Bahadur has held various roles across India, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Türkiye and China during his tenure.
In his current position, he was responsible for portfolio management, the identification and execution of M&A transactions, as well as venture funds, external partnerships and licensing agreements.
Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestlé, said: "On behalf of everyone at the company, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Sanjay for his many contributions to Nestlé. He consistently demonstrated uncompromising integrity and a humble approach to leadership, fostering trust and collaboration across the organization. We wish him all the best for this next chapter.”
Following Sanjay Bahadur’s retirement, the M&A function will report to CFO, Anna Manz.
In October, Navartil unveiled plans to cut around 16,000 jobs worldwide with an aim to increase its savings target to CHF 3 billion by the end of 2027.
Approximately 4,000 of these c.16,000 jobs worldwide were revealed to be in the manufacturing and supply chain.
The decision came just six weeks after Navartil’s appointment, following the scandalous exit of Laurent Freixe.
Despite the swift and unexpected firing, CFO Anna Manz said with Freixe in his 60s, the Board had been considering succession plans already – the move was just quicker than anticipated.
Earlier this month, Nestlé revealed it was investing £28 million in its Dalston factory in Cumbria, to boost efficiencies in its instant sachet coffee business.
This major upgrade at the plant, where it produces its instant sachets of Nescafé Frothy Coffee, includes the construction of a state-of-the-art mixing plant and the installation of two advanced high-tech packing lines, capable of producing up to 60,000 frothy coffee sachets per hour.
