VEVEY, Switzerland – The 153rd Nestlé S.A. Annual General Meeting took place in Lausanne virtually yesterday without the presence of shareholders, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The meeting took place at the Beaulieu Convention Center in Lausanne and all legal proceedings were carried out as required.
Shareholders were able to exercise their voting rights through the Independent Representative Hartmann Dreyer, Attorneys-at-law, who represented 57.8 percent of the capital and 80.1 percent of the shares entitled to vote.
The shareholders elected Hanne Jimenez de Mora, Co-founder and Chairperson of management consulting company a-connect (group) ag and formerly a partner with McKinsey & Company, as a new member of the Board.
Beat Hess did not stand for re-election to the Board after twelve years of service.
The shareholders elected the company’s Chairman Paul Bulcke and all other members of the Board of Directors individually for a term of office until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.
They also elected the members of the Compensation Committee for a one-year term.
In addition, Ernst & Young Ltd was appointed as auditors for the 2020 financial statements of Nestlé S.A. and the consolidated financial statements of the Nestlé Group.
Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke said: “Our Annual General Meeting at Lausanne-Beaulieu took place today as planned, although unfortunately without the presence of shareholders. I am truly sorry that we were unable to meet in person this year because of the pandemic that is affecting us all. I want to thank our shareholders for their understanding and for their continued trust and support of our company. I very much look forward to seeing them in person again next year under normal circumstances.”
For the year to come, the Board and its different committees will be composed as follows:
Nestlé – Board of Directors
Paul Bulcke, U. Mark Schneider, Henri de Castries, Renato Fassbind, Pablo Isla, Ann M. Veneman, Eva Cheng, Patrick Aebischer, Ursula M. Burns, Kasper B. Rorsted, Kimberly A. Ross, Dick Boer, Dinesh Paliwal, Hanne Jimenez de Mora
Chairman’s and Corporate Governance Committee
Paul Bulcke, U. Mark Schneider, Henri de Castries, Renato Fassbind, Pablo Isla
Compensation Committee
Pablo Isla, Patrick Aebischer, Ursula M. Burns, Dick Boer
Nomination and Sustainability Committee
Henri de Castries, Paul Bulcke, Ann M. Veneman, Eva Cheng, Dinesh Paliwal
Audit Committee
Renato Fassbind, Henri de Castries, Eva Cheng, Kimberly A. Ross