Relief at the head of the general management of Nestlé Spain, a position that has been held by up to four executives in the last fifteen years. Since the veteran Catalan executive Josep Arcas left the position in December 2006, the subsidiary has been led by Laurent Freixe, Bernard Meunier, Laurent Dereux and Jacques Reber, all of them foreign executives belonging to the multinational's extensive pool of senior managers and seasoned in multiple positions and countries. Nestlé announced this Tuesday that as of July 1, Jordi Llach, a Catalan executive who is currently the European head of the culinary products area, one of the group's most emblematic divisions, with brands such as Maggi, Solís Buitoni, Litoral and Garden Gourmet, will take the reins of the Spanish subsidiary, which has its headquarters in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona).
Llach will replace Jacques Reber, who held the position since 2018 and has now been promoted to be appointed new Human Resources director of Nestlé throughout Europe.
It is a usual policy of Nestlé to bet on people with a long career in the company to occupy their positions of maximum responsibility. In this line, Jordi Llach, born in Barcelona 58 years ago, has followed a textbook career plan within the Swiss multinational. He joined the group in 1989, performing different responsibilities in the marketing and sales departments of the culinary area. Then, he lived several years in Switzerland and Italy, until he returned to Barcelona in 2013 to direct that entire business area. Two years later, he was promoted and was entrusted, for the first time, with responsibility for an entire country, as he was appointed country manager of Nestlé in Portugal. In 2018, he assumed European responsibilities, moving to Nestlé's world headquarters in Vevey (Switzerland), from where he directs the culinary business for all European subsidiaries. One of his main missions in this stage has been the launch and development of the plant-based products brand Garden Gourmet, already present in all supermarket chains.
"I am very happy to return to Spain and to return to what has been my home. I am aware that we are at a time of many challenges, but, at the same time, I am convinced that, with an innovative mindset, being faithful to our commitment to sustainability and the strength of our brands, factories and the great human team we have, we will address the challenges constructively and consolidate our position in the country," Llach said after his return to Barcelona was announced.
In 2021, Nestlé Spain had a turnover of 2,145 million euros, a figure that includes the value of exports of products manufactured in the ten factories that the company has distributed in five autonomous communities. Specifically, 61% of production is exported, mainly to Nestlé's various European subsidiaries. The Girona coffee factory is one of the multinational's reference production centers.