Nestlé’s vast Zone Americas business segment is set for new leadership as CEO Steve Presley announces retirement after nearly 30 years at the food and beverage giant
Nestlé has appointed Jeff Hamilton as the new CEO for its Zone Americas (AMS) business, effective 1 July, after incumbent Steve Presley announced his retirement
Presley, who has served for nearly 30 years at Nestlé, will leave the Executive Board and his role as CEO Zone AMS on 30 April 2025.
Hamilton began his Nestlé career at Purina in the US as a sales representative in 1991. He has since held various leadership positions, and was previously President and CEO of Nestlé Canada, President of Nestlé’s Foods Division in the US, and Vice President of Marketing at Nestlé Purina Asia, Oceania and Africa. Since 2021, he has served as CEO of Purina PetCare Zone Europe. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
“We are very grateful to Steve for his many years of dedicated service to our company and extend our best wishes to him for his future endeavors. We are excited to announce that Jeff will become the new CEO of Zone Americas. Jeff has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and a remarkable ability to inspire and motivate his teams. We look forward to working with Jeff to drive our growth strategy in Zone AMS,” Laurent Freixe, CEO, Nestlé S.A., said in a press statement.
Nestlé’s vast Zone Americas segment covers the strategically important US and Canadian markets, as well as Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean. In his new role, Hamilton faces a delicate balancing act as Nestlé seeks to offset soaring coffee and cocoa costs, key ingredients in its Nescafé and confectionery ranges, by raising product prices.
Nestlé achieved 2.3% year-on-year group sales growth during the three months ended 31 March 2025 to CHF 22.6bn ($27.3bn) after raising prices by an average of 2.1% during the period – a move it said was necessary to address record cost inflation in coffee and cocoa.
Coffee delivered mid-single-digit growth in Zone Americas segment, led by Nescafé products. Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe has placed coffee at the centre of the food and beverage giant’s strategy to regain momentum after posting a 1.8% decline in annual sales last year.
