Nestlé chairman – and former CEO – Paul Bulcke has reportedly defended the long-term strategy of the food giant, which has faced scrutiny from activist investor Daniel Loeb.
Bulcke, who became Nestlé chair in 2017 after eight years as chief executive, told the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, shareholder activists “know how to “pressure-point you and tease”, Reuters reported today (25 January).
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In 2017, Third Point, the investment fund owned by US billionaire investor Daniel Loeb, took a stake in Nestlé and called for a new strategy at the world’s largest food maker, criticising the “staid culture” and “tendency towards incrementalism” at the KitKat and Maggi owner. Days later, Nestlé outlined where it planned to focus its resources on trying to drive growth.
According to Reuters , Bulcke told the audience in Davos: “If the capacity of delivering is there, we should. If it jeopardises my future thinking, and if it compromises my future success, we should not do this. It’s my job to explain that, to go around, talk to investors and listen to all of them, also him.”
