Fresenius SE generates annual sales of more than $31 billion and sells products and services for hospitals and outpatient treatments. The company’s stock price has more than quadrupled during Schneider’s tenure. At the age of 50, Schneider is a relatively young CEO in the consumer goods industry, something experts say will allow him to lead the company for years to come.
Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel in Zurich told Fortune that it’s “striking” that Nestlé selected an executive from outside of the consumer goods sector. “It shows Nestlé really wants to transform the business and not just do a little bit of health and wellness on the side,” said Bertschy.
While the company is known for products like Nescafé instant coffee, Kit Kat, DiGiorno Pizza, and Perrier, it has been expanding its nutrition and health sciences divisions over the past eight years. When Schneider takes the helm in 2017, the company will integrate those divisions into the main organization with both reporting directly to the CEO.
While the company’s health and wellness segment is only a small portion of the company’s overall business, analysts say it’s growing at a rate of 7.6% compared to the company’s 4.2% overall growth rate. That segment also has a potential to achieve margins of 20% compared to 15% for the all Nestlé groups. Some of the company’s newer products include medical foods for patients with conditions such as Alzheimer’s and gastrointestinal problems.
Nestlé has seen weakened sales growth in recent years with slowdowns in major markets and negative impacts of a strong Swiss franc. The company missed its sales target of organic growth for the past three years, causing some analysts to raise questions about its long-term growth potential.
Société Générale analyst Warren Ackerman told MarketWatch that the appointment is a “a breath of fresh air” and that Schneider “will bring something new to the table and reinforce Nestlé’s credentials in health and wellness.”
Schneider will officially join the company on September 1 and will start as CEO on January 1, 2017.
Companies must act quickly to leverage cross-border e-commerce or risk falling behind competitors already capitalizing…
Chief people officer Johanna Söderström has done the obvious, the necessary and the difficult in…
Boosting productivity and talent retention are among the pluses that providing support for working parents…
The 2024 election results will have a dramatic impact on workplace regulation at the federal,…
Chief Executive’s survey of nearly 300 CEOs across Canada finds politics, domestic and abroad, driving…
Successful CEOs are built, not born, through constant adaptation and reinvention.