Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
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Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (* November 13, 1944 in Villach, Austria) is a former CEO of the Nestlé Group.
Brabeck-Letmathe was born in a family with its origins in Iserlohn-Letmathe in North West Germany. After completing his studies in Economics at the University of World Trade in Vienna, he joined Nestlé in 1968 in Austria as a salesman, later becoming a specialist for new products. His career within the Group included a span of almost 10 years in Chile (1970-1980), first as national Sales Manager and later as Director of Marketing. In 1981, he was appointed Managing Director of Nestlé Ecuador and in 1983, President and Managing Director of Nestlé Venezuela. In October 1987, he was transferred to Nestlé's international headquarters in Vevey. As Senior Vice President in charge of the Culinary Products Division, he had worldwide responsibility for that business area. On 1 January 1992, Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe was appointed Executive Vice President of Nestlé S.A., the world's leading food company, with global responsibility for the Strategic Business Group encompassing Food, Buitoni pasta, Chocolate and Confectionery, Ice Cream, Petfood, as well as Industrial Products (Aromas). At the same time, he had worldwide responsibility for Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs. In particular, during his time as Executive Vice President, he conceived and implemented the unique branding policy of Nestlé, characterized by a strict hierarchy of strategic brands on the global, regional and local level. On 5 June 1997, at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Nestlé S.A., Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was elected Member of the Board of Directors. On the same day, the Board appointed him Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé S.A. On April 6, 2001, the Board of Directors of Nestlé S.A. elected him as Vice-Chairman of the Board, and, in April 2005, Chairman of the Board. Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe is on the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse Group, L'Oréal and of Roche Holding S.A. He is also a member of ERT (European Round Table of Industrialists). His earnings in 2006 were approximately 14 million swiss francs (8.4 million Euro).
Brabeck-Letmathe (credited as Peter Brabeck) appeared in the 2005 documentary We Feed The World in an interview at the end of the film. He said that the idea of water as a basic human right was "extreme" and that he believed water should have value like any foodstuff. He also claimed Nestlé was part of the solution to world poverty by employing so many people, but then in another shot admired a Japanese factory for being so modern and machinised, "hardly any people."
Finally, a quote that may tell more about Brabeck than any more detail in the CV: “The most sensible people to be met with in society are people of business and of the world, who argue from what they see and know, instead of spinning cobweb distinctions of what things ought to be."
