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Nestlé is making another change in its executive ranks.
The world’s largest food company said Jeff Hamilton, currently the business head of Purina PetCare Zone Europe, will become CEO of Nestlé’s Zone Americas region starting in July. He will replace Steve Presley, who is retiring on April 30 after nearly three decades with the company.
As head of Zone Americas, Hamilton will oversee Nestle's operations in regions including the U.S., which has struggled in categories recently such as frozen food. Last October, the food and beverage maker merged its Latin America and North America units as part of a restructuring announced shortly after Laurent Freixe took over as Nestlé’s CEO.
“Jeff has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and a remarkable ability to inspire and motivate his teams,” Freixe said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Jeff to drive our growth strategy in Zone AMS."
Hamilton began his career at Purina in the U.S. as a sales representative in 1991. Since then, he has held various leadership positions around the world.
Nestlé this week posted sales of $27.3 billion during the first quarter, an increase of 2.3%, as the company benefited from price increases in chocolate and coffee.
In North America, Nestlé said sales during the period were flat amid a “challenging macroeconomic environment” and “fragile consumer confidence.” The company was able to post market share gains across several categories and reduce share losses in frozen foods and coffee creamers.
Nestlé has focused on increasing marketing for some of its biggest brands while tailoring innovation to make “fewer, bigger and better” bets on products with the greatest potential for success. But its efforts have been slowed by higher commodity costs and a consumer pullback in spending due to inflation and uncertainty over tariffs.
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