Nestlé's CEO Says Direct Feedback Built His $240 Billion Leadership Playbook

By Daniel Okafor

Nestlé CEO Philipp Navratil says candid feedback did not come naturally to him. He runs a $240 billion food and drink giant. He still forced himself to learn the hardest part of the job: telling people their work falls short.

Navratil laid out his management approach in an interview with Business Insider. His core rule is simple. Be direct. Then show the path forward.

Why the CEO stopped softening criticism

Navratil joined Nestlé in 2001. He held a series of roles before taking the top job last year at the 160-year-old company behind Gerber and KitKat. Early in his career, he noticed a gap in his own management. He could praise. He could not correct.

"It's easy to tell someone 'Great job, well done,'" Navratil said.

The real test arrives when performance slips, he said. A manager must address it. Navratil aims to be "as direct as possible" in those conversations, so nothing stays ambiguous.

The mechanism matters more than the instinct. Soften the message too much, he warned, and employees walk away confused. They miss the problem entirely. They miss the need to change.

"It's much more valuable for them to receive it that way because it's clear," Navratil said.

How does he structure a hard conversation?

Navratil now treats feedback as an integral part of a leader's job. Each conversation follows a two-step structure:

• He names where the employee falls short.
• He spends more time on what comes next: how to improve and what support he will provide.

The goal is clarity first, then a practical route forward. Feedback becomes a tool that strengthens the business while helping people develop, he said.

What gets employees promoted at Nestlé?

Navratil also described the traits that separate overperformers from the rest. Two stand out.

The first is curiosity. He defines it as a willingness to keep building knowledge, whether by learning a skill alone or by turning to colleagues, managers and mentors for direction.

He practices this himself. A junior colleague now serves as his "reverse-mentor," teaching him how to program AI agents.

The habit has deep roots. From 2005 to 2009, Navratil worked as a Nestlé sales representative in Panama. There he realized he had grown too comfortable. His manager pushed him to take a different role and move beyond familiar work. He did.

The second trait is drive. Navratil said an employee eager to improve things beats one with the right skills but little motivation. Determination to change how the job gets done, not just execute it, marks the difference.

"Humbleness, be hungry, and be curious," Navratil said. "Just keep learning every day."

The takeaway for managers

Navratil's story follows a clear arc. A manager who dodged hard messages recognized the cost, rebuilt his method, and now runs the world's largest food company on that discipline. For leaders at any size of firm, his rule translates directly: clarity beats comfort, and the conversation should end with a plan, not just a verdict.