Nestlé appoints Manuela Bernasconi as group general counsel

Manuela Bernasconi will become Nestlé’s group general counsel and join the company’s executive board on January 1st 2027. She will oversee legal affairs, regulatory matters and corporate compliance across the Swiss food and beverage group’s international operations.

The appointment follows the planned retirement of Leanne Geale, who has led Nestlé’s central legal function for seven years. During her tenure, Geale worked on updating compliance procedures, establishing corporate human-rights protocols and managing legal risks across the group’s consumer-goods and ingredients businesses.

Bernasconi joined Nestlé in 2007 in corporate and group compliance. She subsequently held senior legal positions in Switzerland and Zone Europe before becoming general counsel of Nespresso in 2020.

Her responsibilities later widened to emerging markets. She became legal head for Zone Latin America and took charge of Zone Americas in January 2025. In that position, she has dealt with legal issues linked to agricultural sourcing, nutrition claims, industrial processing, trade policy and regional packaging rules.

As an executive-board member, Bernasconi will be responsible for aligning Nestlé’s commercial activities with international legal and regulatory standards. Her remit will include governance frameworks covering the group’s processing, distribution and dairy-related supply networks.

Nestlé’s incoming general counsel will also oversee legal work related to cross-border mergers, commercial partnerships and statutory trade compliance. The appointment comes as large food manufacturers face regulatory scrutiny over supply-chain transparency, product formulation and corporate governance, while sustainability and reporting requirements continue to develop across international markets.