Pablo Isla, former president of Inditex and current advisor to the Cinven fund, has been appointed vice president of the Nestlé Group. Isla has been a director of the Swiss multinational for five years, and his term expired this year. The shareholders meeting of the company, held last week, approved his appointment as lead independent director and chairman of the Nomination Committee.
Isla will be replacing Henri de Castries in the position of vice president. Castries, who served in the role for 12 years, did not stand for re-election due to internal term limits within the company. Isla was first appointed as a director by the Nestlé shareholders meeting in April 2018, and he brings extensive experience in retail, e-commerce, supply chain, innovation, and governance to the board.
Despite stepping down as president of Inditex in March 2022, Isla has taken on various new projects. He is now a global advisor to the Cinven fund and serves as the president of Amara Nzero, a renewables firm in which the fund has invested. Isla also holds positions as president of the governing council of IE University, advisor to General Atlantic private equity, and member of several boards of trustees.
At the 157th shareholders meeting, Nestlé also approved the latest accounts, a proposed dividend of 3 Swiss francs per share, and a capital reduction. The dividend represents a 5-cent increase compared to the previous year. Nestlé’s latest annual results for the 2023 financial year showed a 21% growth in net profit, reaching 11.2 billion Swiss francs, despite a 1.5% drop in revenue down to 93 billion Swiss francs.
Even with a 7.5% increase in prices at the end of the year compared to the previous year, there was a decrease in volumes sold. Nestlé’s shares on the Swiss Stock Exchange are currently trading at their lowest levels since the pandemic.