Online Reporter
NEW YORK. — Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe joins a long list of CEOs who have been forced out of their jobs due to a workplace relationship.
Despite company policies forbidding them, top executives continue to pursue romance at work.
This raises questions about the effectiveness of workplace relationship policies and whether it’s time for a new approach to office romance.
Nestlé said Freixe’s exit followed an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate that violated the company’s code of conduct.
“This was a necessary decision. Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company,” Paul Bulcke, chairman, said in a Nestlé statement about the CEO change.
Less than two months ago, Andy Byron, the former CEO of Astronomer, resigned after a viral video captured him canoodling with the company’s chief people officer during a Coldplay concert.
Other high-profile examples of CEOs who lost their positions due to issues surrounding workplace romance include:
Ashley Buchanan, the former CEO of Kohl’s, was dismissed in May (only months into the job) for his romantic relationship with a woman whose coffee company did business with Kohl’s.
Alan Shaw, the former CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, was forced out in 2024 after he had a consensual relationship with the company’s chief legal officer. Bernard Looney, the former CEO of BP, resigned from the company in 2023 after failing to disclose several consensual relationships with colleagues.
Jeff Shell, the former CEO of NBCUniversal, was fired in 2023 for an inappropriate relationship and allegations of sexual harassment.
Steve Easterbrook, the former CEO of McDonald’s, was terminated in 2019 for having a relationship with an employee.
Brian Krzanich, the former CEO of Intel, was fired in 2018 after the company learned of a past consensual relationship with a subordinate.
Laurent Potdevin resigned from his position as CEO of Lululemon in 2018. CNBC reported that a relationship with a female designer at the company was one of the issues that contributed to his resignation.
Chris Kabasik was appointed CEO of Lockheed Martin in 2012, but resigned before he started the job when an investigation revealed he had an affair with a subordinate.
Although this list is exclusively male, women have also faced consequences for these relationships.
For example, Nadine Ahn, the former CFO of Royal Bank of Canada was terminated in 2024 after having an undisclosed relationship with a subordinate. It’s important to remember that the majority of undisclosed relationships likely remain hidden (by their nature). And rank-and-file managers, who face less scrutiny than CEOs and have less to lose from engaging in such relationships, may be even more likely to start one.
All in all, the number of those participating in these relationships is likely much higher than acknowledged. — Forbes
Mathew Masinge