Nestle is a Swiss multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly traded food company in the world based on revenue and other metrics as of 2014. In 2017, it was ranked 64th on the Fortune Global 500 and 33rd in the 2016 edition of the Forbes Global 2000 list of largest companies.
Nestle products include baby food, medicinal products, mineral water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy, ice cream, frozen food, pet food and snacks. Around 29 Nestle brands generate annual sales in excess of CHF 1 billion (approx. USD 1.1 billion dollars), those brands include Nespresso, Nescafe, Kit Kat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffers, Vittel and Maggi. Nestle has 447 factories, operates in 189 countries and employs around 339,000 people. It is one of the major shareholders of L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company.
Recently, the company said that they have hired London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) finance chief Anna Manz as its new Chief Financial Officer. Anna Manz will replace Francois-Xavier Roger, who the company stated is stepping down to “pursue new professional challenges” after eight years in the position.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors and our Executive Board, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Francois. He has supported us in shaping and implementing our value creation strategy and has helped steer Nestle through a very turbulent macroeconomic environment over the last three years. We wish him all the best for his next endeavours. At the same time, we are thrilled to welcome Anna Manz to Nestle. Anna Manz has spent her career growing businesses and improving operational efficiencies. Her deep knowledge of the consumer goods industry, combined with her extensive experience across many corporate functions, make her uniquely positioned to help lead Nestlé into its next phase of value creation,” Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle said.
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Who is Anna Manz?
- Anna Manz was born and brought up in London, England, United Kingdom
- She completed her schooling at Withington Girls’ School and her bachelor’s and master’s in Chemistry from the University of Oxford
- According to her LinkedIn profile, in 1997, Anna Manz started working for Unilever Company as a Trainee
- In 2004, she joined Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company and spent 17 years handling a number of senior finance roles, including Chief Strategy Officer and member of the Executive Committee, Finance Director of Spirits North America, Group Treasurer, and Finance Director Asia Pacific
- From the year 2016 to 2020, Anna Manz was Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Johnson Matthey, leading its Finance, Procurement and IT functions
- She was appointed Chief Financial Officer of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and joined the Board of LSEG plc. as a Director in November 2020, bringing significant consumer, financial and strategic experience to the Group
- Anna Manz is also a Non-Executive Director at ITV, a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences
- In May 2023, Nestle appointed her as Chief Financial Officer
- In 2022, Anna Manz was shortlisted for the Women in Finance Awards as CFO of the Year
- According to the London Stock Exchange Group, as the CFO, Anna Manz received a salary of £650,000
Anna Manz has leadership responsibilities in AstraZeneca too
In April 2023, AstraZeneca PLC, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company announced that Anna Manz has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee which will be effective from September of this year.
AstraZeneca Chairman Michel Demare said, “We are delighted to welcome Anna to the AstraZeneca Board. She brings extensive cross-sector business skills and knowledge to the Board, having held international roles in North America and Asia Pacific and served as an executive and non-executive in large, listed companies. Anna’s significant financial and strategic leadership experience, including in areas such as risk, treasury and accounting, will enable her to fully contribute to the work of our Audit Committee.”