The battle for the corner office may be more competitive than ever before—with promotions today seeming few and far between; in fact, some 75% of workers leave jobs before ever being promoted, according to ADP.
However, playing the long game also has its benefits—and Philipp Navratil is the latest example of that.
The 49-year-old was just named the CEO of Nestlé, the multinational food and drink conglomerate consisting of brands like Nespresso, KitKat, and Cheerios, after spending his entire career climbing the same ladder.
Navratil first joined Nestlé as an internal auditor in 2001, fresh out of obtaining his MBA from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. He slowly climbed the ranks in a career that included leadership positions in Panama, Honduras, and Mexico before becoming the head of Nespresso in 2024.
The CEO job opened up after Laurent Freixe was ousted over Labor Day weekend following investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate. In a press release, Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke said Navratil stood out as the successor because of “his impressive track record of achieving results in challenging environments” over his 24-year stint at Nestlé.
For aspirational Gen Zers looking to emulate his success straight out of college, Navratil’s mantra centers around being in a constant pursuit of learning new knowledge and skills.
“In today’s fast-paced world, staying curious and embracing new ideas is essential to staying ahead,” he wrote on LinkedIn earlier this year.
Nestlé for life
Nestlé has been around for over 150 years, and like Navratil, its leaders have a track record of spending decades of their careers at the company.
For example, now-former CEO Freixe, spent 38 years at the company before being named chief executive last year. Alfonso Gonzalez Loeschen, the current CEO of Nespresso North America, has also spent 33 years at Nestlé, with his roots first sprouting as an intern in 1992.
“I actually knocked on Nestlé’s door for a job,” Gonzalez Loeschen told Fortune late last year. “I was looking for a multinational company, because I couldn’t imagine myself living and growing up in the same place. I really enjoy learning about different cultures and different ways of living. And I was lucky enough to get into Nestlé.”
Gonzalez Loeschen pinpointed the fact that Nestlé has allowed him to live internationally and experience new cultures—as well as always being a new challenge to tackle.
“We’re a very big food company, and I’ve had these opportunities to manage different brands—mostly in beverages and coffee,” he said. “I’ve been in coffee for a long time, but there’s always been a new opportunity and a new challenge.”
Climbing the ranks as a company “lifer”
Nestlé isn’t alone in cultivating an environment of its leaders starting from the bottom and rising to the top; many Fortune 500 CEOs have had similar experiences being committed to their company.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon started his career unloading trucks at the warehouse making $6.50 an hour at age 17. Three decades later, in 2014, he was named CEO. But, he stresses there are no shortcuts up the ladder—and each ring must be taken seriously.
“Don’t take your current job for granted,” McMillon told Stratechery last year. “The next job doesn’t come if you don’t do the one you’ve got well.”
Similarly, Mary Barra became chief executive at General Motors the same year at McMillion after starting at the automobile company in 1980 as a co-op student on the Pontiac assembly line.
“You just got to do the right thing and move forward. That’s something I learned very early in my tenure as CEO going through the ignition switch crisis,” she told Fortune at the 2024 Most Powerful Women Summit.
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