Nestle proposes former SNB chief Thomas Jordan for board of directors

ZURICH, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Swiss consumer goods giant Nestle said on Wednesday it has proposed former Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan to serve on its board of directors and that it plans to overhaul the company’s governance practices.

Nestle has been roiled by managerial turmoil over the past year-and-a-half with two CEOs departing and a chairman stepping down early amid serious setbacks that have hit its share price and raised questions about its corporate governance.

Nestle said Jordan would be put forward alongside Fatima Francisco, chief executive officer of Procter & Gamble’s Global Baby, Feminine and Family Care sector for election to the board of directors at its annual general meeting on April 16.

The firm said it had reviewed its practices and committee structure and would make changes to take effect at the AGM.

Those changes include introducing additional meetings in order to increase board engagement, and revising committee structures and responsibilities, Nestle said.

The chair’s and corporate governance committee will be dissolved, with its finance duties assumed by a new audit and finance committee and its corporate governance brief by a nomination and corporate governance committee, it added.

(Writing by Dave Graham, editing by Maria Martinez)