Nestle replaces India MD after Maggi row

TNN

New Delhi, 25 Jul 2015: Maggi controversy has claimed its first victim at Nestle. The Swiss food giant’s India MD Etienne Benet is getting transferred to its headquarters in Switzerland. He will be replaced by Suresh Narayanan, chairman and CEO of Nestle Philippines, who is slated to assume office from next month. 

 

Benet, who joined Nestle India in October 2013, oversaw the company’s operations during the Maggi crisis. He is also one of the first heads to roll, said a senior executive from Nestle India. "You can expect three to four more senior executives to leave in the coming weeks," he said. 

 

Most of the Nestle India employees that TOI spoke to said the decision to transfer Benet was not sudden. "We are not surprised. It was a foregone conclusion. The news was doing the rounds in the company for two weeks. He did not handle the crisis the way it should have been done," they said. 

 

Narayanan, who holds a master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics and a diploma from the IMD Program for executive development, comes in at a time when Nestle India is facing its biggest challenge due to FSSAI’s ban on Maggi. Last month, the country’s apex food regulator banned the comfort food on charges of containing lead and undeclared monosodium glutamate (MSG).

 

 

At present, the company is fighting the FSSAI in the Bombay High Court over Maggi’s ban and recall. At the same time, it is also putting in place a plan to re-launch Maggi in a new avatar. "Suresh is a great guy to lead Nestle during these troubled times. He is very customer focused and excellent with field teams," said the CEO of one of the country’s largest food and beverage firms, who worked with Narayanan in the past. 

 

The ban would lead to around Rs 320 crore worth of Maggi packets being recalled and destroyed by the company. The two-minute instant noodles, an erstwhile market leader in the category, contributed around 25% to Nestle India’s annual revenues of around Rs 9,800 crore in 2014. In a statement on Friday, Nestle India said, "Narayanan will function as a designate. The proposal is subject to necessary approvals."