Nestlé CEO drinks 8 cups of coffee a day, but says Gen Z employees are his secret to staying sharp through ‘continuous learning’

The leader of the $259 billion Swiss food giant has revealed that he drinks seven or eight cups of joe a day.

“Only black. Sometimes with Kit Kat,” Navratil said He said recently New York Times. It’s become so routine in his workday that he says espresso is “my snack,” adding that he hasn’t set any deadline for caffeine intake.

While Gen Two to three cups Today, it’s Generation Z that keeps them on their toes, advising them to continually grow in their role. Otherwise, he might as well walk out the door.

Navratil admitted that Nestlé’s youngest employees taught him to “continuously learn.” New York Times. “When you stop learning, it’s time to move on to another job.”

Navratil joins a strong group of business leaders, including executives from… Colgate-Palmolive and tapewho say Generation Z employees push them to be better. Executives are fighting back The idea Digital youth are unambitious and very demanding in the workplace. Instead, Generation Z is stepping into their roles with fresh ideas and an open mind, as they redefine the future of work.

Nestlé did not immediately respond luckRequest for comment.

Navratil’s rise to the top of the food and beverage world

While the mere thought of downing eight cups of coffee a day may give your heart palpitations, caffeine has been at the center of Navratil’s career rise.

He came back I went up to the top floor last September after spending his entire two-decade career at the food giant. After completing his MBA in Switzerland in 2001, Navratil joined Nestlé as an auditor. Over the next 23 years, he rose to various leadership positions in Panama, Honduras and Mexico before taking over as CEO of Nespresso in 2024. Just one year later, he became the leader of the entire Nestlé maneuver, which includes iconic brands such as Kit KatNescafe, and Gerber.

Years after Lackluster salesThe company’s stock price has reached nearly half its peak in 2022. Just last February, the packaged food company… I mentioned to her Weakest annual organic sales growth in more than 25 years, driven by consumer discounts. And for the first nine months of 2025, Nestlé Sales decreased 1.9% to about $82.8 billion compared to the same period in 2024.

This slow success prompted Navratil to make some difficult decisions. Only one month under new leadership, Nestlé She announced that she would be cut off 12,000 management jobs and 4,000 manufacturing and supply chain jobs, reducing its global workforce by 6% over the next two years. The company said in statement Some office carts will be automated as Nestlé seeks “operational efficiency”.

“Obviously, this way of working will require fewer people, but it will also speed up the company,” Navratil said. New York Times. “It will be a growth story about how we use AI to grow faster, make better decisions, and plan across the supply chain to have less inventory and less waste.”

Gen Z employees push their bosses to ‘do things differently’

Navratil is not the only business leader Recognition of value Of young employees.

Chief Human Resources Officer at 76 billion dollars giant Colgate-Palmolivesally massey, Dispel myths That Generation Z brings nothing but high standards and chaos to the workplace.

The head of human resources credited her young employees with being incredibly ambitious and tech-savvy, critical skills for which Al Turath competes for talent. In order to absorb all their new skills, senior business leaders make a concerted effort to listen to junior employees, brainstorming ideas across the ranks and generations to create the best business plan possible.

“(Generation Z) has grown up with technology. They’ve grown up in a very different way than some of the other generations in the organization,” Massey said He said recently luck. “They bring with them new ideas, new perspectives, curiosity… They push us to get better and do things differently – I think that’s great.”

Emily Glasberg-Sands, head of data and AI at Stripe, also revealed that she had invested in it Recruiting new graduates To work in $106.7 billion Financial services company. The CEO singled out Generation Z for being technologically savvy and driven to achieve what can be achieved at work.

“I’m actually hiring more new grads — now, it’s largely new Ph.D.s — but more new grads than ever before,” Glasberg-Sands said on the website. Future forwardPodcast last year. “Because they have cutting-edge skills, they come up with new ideas, they know how to think, and they know how to use the latest tools.”