“The coronavirus pandemic has tested our ability to change. Our key challenge, however, is not about adapting but transforming ourselves, so we must regard this crisis as an opportunity to position the company as an agent for social change”, explained Jacques Reber, CEO of Nestlé Spain, at the latest Matins Esade session. “Here at Nestlé we want to drive transformation and respond to the climate emergency to lead the way to a healthy, green future: a crucial factor for sustainable, long-term growth”, he added.

The Nestlé CEO recalled that his company has been working on sustainability for years and that now consumers themselves have put corporate sustainability at the top of the agenda. “In the next five years, Nestlé will invest more than CHF 3bn in sustainability alone. We are delighted to do so: sustainability was important to us before it became fashionable”, he explained.

During this Matins Esade, Reber emphasised the importance of corporate purpose. “When a company has a purpose, it knows where it’s going”, he said. “Nestlé believes it’s important to create value for consumers by providing quality products and going even further by adopting a holistic mindset”. “We listen carefully to our consumers and this is the core of our company,” he added.

Digital change and adaptation

“Digital change affects corporate culture directly”, said the CEO of Nestlé Spain. “Its advantages became clear at the beginning of the pandemic and thanks to technology people started working from home almost overnight. In addition, people use social media every day to communicate with each other”, he added.

The CEO also explained that this is no time for perfection because everything is changing so quickly that “what matters is the ability to adapt and be the first”. In this respect, he pointed out “the importance of pooling efforts to achieve a greater end”. “Here at Nestlé we have started working with start-ups, because they can provide solutions and flexibility, and also because working together enables us to be more flexible,” he said.

“It used to be that when you launched a product you could have a copy in two or three years. Nowadays you can have a copy in three months so there’s no time to develop a product in two years. Now you can have a prototype in a short space of time”, concluded the CEO of Nestlé Spain, Jacques Reber, emphasising that as regards professional careers, “happiness leads to success, but success does not necessarily lead to happiness.” Reber was interviewed in this Matins Esade session by professor Oriol Iglesias of the marketing department.

Matins Esade sessions are a space for thinking about business held by Esade Alumni at Esade, an opportunity for executives from foremost companies to share their views about their industries and companies.