LONDON (Reuters) - Growing up in Germany, Mark Schneider was pushed to become fluent in English by his father, who believed it would give him an edge.
Now as Nestle’s (NESN.S) relatively new chief executive, the 52-year-old’s abilities are being put to the test by an activist U.S. investor pressing him to act faster and more forcefully to raise the Swiss company’s profit.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb’s Third Point is urging steps it says can boost margins and double earnings per share at the world’s biggest food company by 2022.
Years spent in the United States landed Schneider dual German-U.S. citizenship and a Harvard MBA. Combined with a PhD from the Swiss university of St. Gallen and 13 years as CEO of a German firm, he has the experience to balance the measured European shareholder approach and American-style activism, analysts say.
“Schneider can hopefully bring both of those things to his role,” Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox said, adding that if he fails to deliver on his strategy, the maker of Gerber baby food and Nescafe could face calls for a break-up.
Third Point sent a letter to the board and published a 34-page presentation on recommendations for Nestle this week but has not given a deadline for the changes, which include selling its L’Oreal (OREP.PA) stake and reorganizing into three business units.
Sources familiar with the matter say the fund had several interactions with Nestle in the past year since becoming a top 10 shareholder. The next meeting, set for autumn, had already been scheduled
