Latest news with #Nestlé
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nestlé chair Paul Bulcke to step down as Pablo Isla nominated successor
Nestlé chair Paul Bulcke is to step down in 2026 with vice chair Pablo Isla lined up to be promoted to the role. The Milo drinks maker said in a statement Bulcke will relinquish his board roles at the conclusion of the company's next annual general meeting on 16 April 2026 to allow for a "smooth transition and an orderly handover". Bulcke's decision comes after almost five decades with Nestlé, including nine years as chairman, 14 years on the executive board, and almost nine years as CEO, according to the statement. 'It has been a true privilege and a pleasure to be part of Nestlé's journey over so many years,' Bulcke said. 'It is the right moment for me to dedicate more time to my family and to embrace my many other interests.' Bulcke was replaced by Mark Schneider as CEO in early 2017. Laurent Freixe, who was Nestlé's executive vice president and CEO of the Latin America business, then took the helm from Schneider in September last year. "I am confident that with Pablo Isla, Laurent Freixe, as well as a strong executive team and board of directors, the company is in trusted hands and will continue its promising growth and value-creation journey," Bulcke said in the statement. The Switzerland-based food and drinks major said its board plans to put forward Isla for election as chairman at the 2026 AGM. He joined Nestlé's board of directors in 2018 and since 2024 has held the roles of vice chairman and lead independent director. In his former career, Isla was the CEO of clothing company Inditex, the parent of Zara, from 2005 to 2011, and added the chairman role to his CEO duties from 2011 to 2022. Isla said: 'I am enthusiastic about taking on this new role, as I fully identify with Nestlé's nutrition, health and wellness strategy and its 'creating shared value approach' to business.' Bulcke's career at Nestlé began in 1979 and he was appointed to the executive board in 2004, overseeing Zone Americas. He became a board member in 2008 and was CEO from 2008 to 2016, taking on the role of chairman in April 2017. Nestlé said that together with Freixe, the incoming leadership team is 'well equipped' to maintain the company's position in nutrition, health and wellness. "Nestlé chair Paul Bulcke to step down as Pablo Isla nominated successor " was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Worth talking about: the future of conversational AI in business
Cognigy is a Business Reporter client Stunning advances in AI technology over the past couple of years are creating new ways for organisations to conduct more meaningful and natural conversations with their customers. One such technology is conversational agentic AI. Now launching into the UK, Cognigy is a specialist in enterprise conversational AI. Its flagship solution, combines generative and conversational AI to deliver hyper-personalized, multilingual service across channels, empowering enterprises with scalable Voice and Chat AI Agents, Agent Copilot tools, and real-time support. With proven success in industries like banking, travel, and utilities, and trusted by major brands including Nestlé, Lufthansa, and Mercedes-Benz, Cognigy is setting a new benchmark in intelligent automation for contact centres worldwide. We sat down with Sebastian Glock, Technology Evangelist at Cognigy, to ask him how changes in conversational agentic AI are unfolding, where it's all headed and what organisations need to keep in mind as they explore the new possibilities. How capable is conversational AI today and what could it offer in the future? The chatbots and voice bots of a few years ago often disappointed users with bad answers or by the need to respond in unnatural ways, such as giving single-word requests like 'refund' instead of using full sentences. They were also slow. Above all, they fell short of the hype and expectations that had been built up. People expected science fiction but instead they got 'Sorry, I didn't get that' over and over. The rise of large language models has transformed conversational AI. Yet that's not the full story. LLMs are impressive but can also be unpredictable. Where things really click is when you combine that raw power with structure, purpose and guardrails that contain tight controls, so responses stay relevant, safe and on-brand. AI agents can then conduct interactions with humans in a way that feels natural. Human-to-machine communication becomes almost indistinguishable from human-to-human communication. The ability for a machine to have a smart and contextual conversation with a human is something that was impossible even as recently as two years ago. And even though it's not yet widely implemented, the technology to have effortless, natural and productive interactions is here and it works. Looking ahead, there will soon come a time when humans will prefer to talk to the AI rather than a human contact centre agent. Interactions will become so good that nobody will want to spend the time or effort trawling through a website to find the information they want. Imagine being able to simply talk to a website and it instantly responds with exactly the information you wanted. How can AI customer service agents meet the varying needs of different organisations? AI agents allow companies to combine all the benefits of automation with a greatly improved customer experience that offers less waiting time, better answers and more empathetic communication. At the same time, organisations can decrease service costs by automating their customer conversations. The technology is flexible, allowing organisations to blend human and AI interactions to suit their needs. Intelligent conversation design ensures that if a customer makes a difficult request – for example, asking for a discount that AI cannot authorise – a human will take over. Workflows can be tailored so the AI might say, 'Let me check with my supervisor,' and then follow up with a human-style email for a personal touch, even if the response is AI-generated. For premium brands, an AI can verify identity and route calls, yet every interaction ultimately connects the customer with a human expert. Conversely, some companies may limit human involvement; here, if the AI is unsure, it will call you back with an answer after consulting a human. It's also critical to enable AI agents to access existing data and tools like a CRM or ERP system. This lets the AI understand a caller's recent orders, preferences or past issues. That context allows for a much more personalised and efficient exchange, which makes things smoother for both sides. We also work with our clients to make sure the AI assistant speaks in a way that reflects their brand identity, whether that's professional and formal or more casual and conversational. It's not just about words. It's about pacing, empathy and how solutions are delivered. Done right, it can feel like a natural extension of the brand. What is a good example of how a company is using your AI solutions to benefit their business? The best results come from industries with a high volume of incoming customer enquiries that are typically repetitive. A good example is insurance or finance, where most interactions often involve similar requests. In one case, we work with a large European bank to improve how it confirms appointments for credit requests that customers make online. Previously, skilled loan advisors manually dialled applicants' numbers, but 80 per cent of these calls failed due to no answer, hang-ups or confusion. Now, Cognigy's voice AI agent automatically calls each number, verifies the loan application and asks if the customer is ready to speak with an advisor to complete the process. The AI agent even offers flexible scheduling or records if a customer is no longer interested, with all data fed into the system. About 80 per cent of calls still don't result in a successful loan application, which is the same as before. However, the huge difference here is that it dramatically decreases the workload on loan advisors, saving them countless hours and thousands of unnecessary calls. Most importantly, of the 20 per cent which succeed, about 85 per cent are directly transferred to a human loan advisor which accelerates the process, boosts conversion rates and ultimately generates more revenue for the bank at a much lower cost. How do you answer an organisation's concerns about an AI agent's reliability and compliance with data protection and privacy rules? We often get people requesting an AI solution that is easy, fast, all-knowing and transactional. They also want to know the solution is safe, with guard rails to prevent it operating outside of the intended scope. Transparency and control are critical to meet such requirements and to comply with regulatory demands. We give companies a clear view into how their systems operate and make sure the data stays within their environment. For industries with strict rules, like healthcare or finance, we offer deployment options that meet even the most rigorous requirements, including on-premises setups if needed. Every case is different and we use different setups, different configurations, and different cloud vendors for different requirements. The key point for enterprises is that proven, production-ready solutions already exist. Success or failure rather lies in getting the implementation right which is why experience plays a big role, something that is in high demand but low supply right now. What advice would you offer companies that are just beginning to explore this technology? Don't try to do everything at once. Look for a use case that can demonstrate success quickly and then expand from there into more use cases. Instead of an 18-month overhaul, consider a four-week proof of concept to quickly deliver results and expand from there. Your customers, agents and your project will benefit faster and those quick results will get you more internal buy-in, and perhaps budget, to continue expanding. AI agents will soon outnumber human employees, with each person managing multiple digital assistants. In this new landscape, it's crucial to implement future-proof, scalable solutions rather than isolated point-to-point systems that lack seamless integrations. Any final thoughts? Large language models are improving rapidly while costs plummet – new advances emerge every month. I'm excited for a future where personal AI assistants handle everyday tasks like booking restaurants and scheduling appointments through our mobile devices or wearables. By learning our habits and accessing our calendars, these assistants will simplify our lives. However, this shift also brings challenges for businesses. Imagine a customer telling their AI agent to call their insurance company, which is using its own AI to answer. As human-to-AI and AI-to-AI interactions become common, companies must adapt quickly to evolving customer experiences and rethink processes for the AI first era.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Customers react to KitKat's shrinkflation
Kitkat fans have snapped after shrinkflation hit the teatime chocolate favourite, with multipacks getting smaller and more expensive. Some packs have shrunk by three whole bars while the price has gone up 40p or more. Packs of 21, which were previously available for £3.60 in Tesco , now contain just 18 bars but now cost £4. Nine packs, which were £1.95 or £1.30 with a Tesco Clubcard in April, are down to eight and cost £2.20. The change has been spotted by shoppers who have railed at the latest example of shrinkflation, where products shrink in size but the price remains the same or goes up. It comes after multipacks of Cadbury Twirl chocolate bars recently shrunk from 10 to 9, Dairy Milk Little Bars went from four to six and packs of Freddos are now four from five. The British Retail Consortium said global cocoa prices are around three times higher at the moment than in 2022, after being badly affected by poor harvests in parts of Africa. Nestlé said: 'Like every manufacturer, we have seen significant increases in the cost of cocoa, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products. 'As always, we continue to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible. 'To maintain the same high quality, delicious products that consumers know and love, it has sometimes been necessary to make adjustments to the price, weight or size of some of our products. 'Retail pricing is always at the discretion of individual retailers.' The manufacturer confirmed the recommended retail price (RRP) of the packs had changed from £5.09 for the old 21-packs to £5.50 for 18-packs, while the old nine packs had gone from £2.25 to £2.50 for eight.
Business Wire
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
CEA Becomes the First Chinese Airline to Launch Direct Flight From Shanghai to Geneva on June 16
SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At 13:20 on June 16 (Beijing time), China Eastern Airlines (CEA) flight MU217 from Shanghai Pudong International Airport landed at Geneva International Airport in Switzerland. This inaugural flight carried 243 passengers with an occupancy rate exceeding 85%. Before departure, CEA held a maiden flight ceremony at Terminal 1 of Shanghai Pudong International Airport, attended by the captain, cabin manager, and representatives of passengers. As the first direct flight between Shanghai and Geneva launched by a Chinese airline, this flight will operate regularly during the 2025 summer and autumn seasons, four times a week - on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The outbound flight MU217 departs from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 1:30 a.m. and arrives in Geneva at 7:50 local time. The return flight MU218 departs from Geneva at 12:00 local time and arrives in Shanghai at 5:30 the following day. CEA will deploy Airbus A350 or A330 large wide-body aircraft on this route, both equipped with high-speed air-to-ground connectivity, allowing passengers to enjoy "Wi-Fi onboard" internet services throughout their journey. Geneva, located in southwestern Switzerland, is a significant center for diplomacy and international affairs in Europe, renowned as the "Capital of Peace" and home to numerous international organizations. This city boasts the picturesque Lake Geneva, majestic Alps, and rich cultural heritage, making it one of the world's most coveted tourist destinations. 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland. The launch of CEA's Shanghai-Geneva route will bridge European charm with Eastern appeal, greatly facilitating business, tourism, and cultural exchanges between China and Europe. As a Nestlé employee based in Shanghai stated, "This new route provides Nestlé China staff with more travel options between China and our Swiss headquarters." Nestlé will also collaborate with CEA to promote the co-branded coffee with the route's launch. So far, CEA has launched flights connecting China with various European cities, including Paris, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Budapest, Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Milan, Marseille, and Geneva. With the upcoming launch of the Shanghai-Milan route on June 20 and the Shanghai-Copenhagen route on July 17, CEA will operate flights to 15 European cities.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Global Food Companies Are Struggling to Deliver Methane Progress
In December 2023, some of the world's largest food companies made a splashy pledge to slash one of the planet's fiercest heat-trapping gases. As part of the newly formed Dairy Methane Action Alliance, Bel Group, Danone, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Lactalis USA and Nestlé—with Clover Sonoma and Starbucks joining soon after—pledged to reduce the powerful gas emanating from their sprawling dairy supply chains. The companies promised to publish emissions data and action plans by the end of 2024. So far the results have been lackluster. As of May 2025, seven of the companies have at least partially disclosed their dairy methane emissions. But only three have rolled out action plans that meet the alliance's guidelines, and just one has set a specific target to shrink its dairy methane footprint. Meanwhile, the deadline for publishing their emissions figures and plans has been pushed to the end of this year.
