• Nestlé has appointed Antonia Wanner as Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer, effective 1 September 2026.
• The move brings corporate communications and sustainability under one senior executive role on the Group Executive Board.
• The appointment places stakeholder engagement, sustainability credibility and long-term value creation closer to Nestlé’s core business strategy.

Nestlé Aligns Stakeholder Trust With Sustainability Strategy

Nestlé is reshaping its senior leadership structure by placing corporate communications and sustainability under one executive mandate, a move that reflects rising scrutiny on corporate ESG claims, stakeholder trust and long-term value creation.

The company’s Board of Directors has appointed Antonia Wanner as Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer. She will also join the Group Executive Board from 1 September 2026.

Wanner currently serves as Nestlé’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Her new role expands that remit to include corporate communications, giving her oversight of two functions that now sit at the centre of global consumer goods governance.

For Nestlé, the decision comes at a time when multinational food groups face pressure from regulators, investors and consumers. Climate targets, supply chain resilience, nutrition, packaging and responsible sourcing now shape market access and reputation. As a result, the way companies communicate sustainability progress has become a governance issue, not only a branding concern.

A Long-Serving Executive Takes a Wider Mandate

Wanner brings three decades of experience inside Nestlé. She joined the company in Germany in 1996 as an in-house lawyer. Since then, she has held senior roles across Procurement, Sales and Sustainability.

That cross-functional background gives her direct exposure to the commercial and operational levers behind Nestlé’s ESG agenda. It also positions her to connect sustainability commitments with business execution, particularly in areas such as supply chains, sourcing standards and stakeholder engagement.

Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestlé, commented: “Antonia will make Corporate Communications an even stronger driver of business impact, closely aligned with our strategic priorities and focused on disciplined execution. Bringing Corporate Communications and Sustainability closer together will strengthen credible stakeholder engagement and support long-term value creation. Lisa Gibby, Chief Communications Officer, has decided to return to the U.S. after six years in the role. I thank her for her leadership and important contributions.”

Wanner holds a PhD in Law. She has also completed executive education at IMD in Lausanne and the University of Cambridge.

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Why the Governance Shift Matters

The appointment gives Nestlé a more integrated structure for managing sustainability narratives and stakeholder expectations. That matters because the communications function now carries higher regulatory and investor risk.

Companies across food, agriculture and consumer goods must explain how sustainability targets translate into measurable action. Investors also want clearer evidence on climate exposure, nature-related risks, product portfolios and human rights due diligence.

For executives, the lesson is direct. ESG performance and ESG communication can no longer run on separate tracks. Any gap between ambition and delivery can damage credibility. It can also raise legal, reputational and capital market risks.

Nestlé’s move suggests a tighter internal connection between the substance of sustainability work and the way that work reaches investors, employees, consumers and policymakers.

Implications for Investors and C-Suite Leaders

For investors, the appointment will be watched through the lens of execution. Nestlé operates across complex global supply chains, with exposure to agriculture, water, packaging, emissions and nutrition policy. These issues affect costs, regulation and consumer trust.

For C-suite leaders, the change reflects a wider shift in corporate structure. Sustainability is moving deeper into executive decision-making. Communications teams, meanwhile, must support more rigorous reporting and more credible stakeholder engagement.

The departure of Lisa Gibby, who will return to the U.S. after six years as Chief Communications Officer, also creates a clear transition point. Nestlé is using that change to consolidate leadership rather than appoint a direct communications successor.

The wider significance goes beyond one executive appointment. Large global companies now face a tougher credibility test on sustainability. Regulators want accuracy. Investors want evidence. Consumers want proof.

By combining communications and sustainability at Group Executive Board level, Nestlé is treating trust as a strategic asset. For a company with global reach, that alignment will shape how its ESG agenda is judged across markets.