Since 15 January 2015 Jean Grunenwald has been Nestlé Hungary’s managing director. Trade magazin asked him, an executive with both regional and international experience, about his professional background, his first impressions of Hungary and his plans for the medium and long term. Jean Grunenwald has been a member of the Nestlé team for 25 years. His previous position was regional director of Purina in Central Europe. – As regional director I visited Hungary many times but these trips were always about quick and efficient meetings and other professional programmes, so now I can hardly wait to discover the country and to learn more about Hungarian people – said the managing director, who is already learning the language. Mr Grunenwald is 48 years old, he is the father of 3 children and he was born in Alsace, France. He has been living abroad for 20 years, he started his international career in Italy and at the end of 2008 he was appointed Purina’s regional director in Central Europe. With him in the director’s seat sales increased considerably in the region and Purina’s Swiss team became market leader. The managing director sees plenty of opportunities and challenges ahead of Nestlé Hungary. He considers it his mission to fight pessimism. Since day one in Hungary he has experienced so much energy and dynamism and has been presented so many ideas that he is convinced: deep down in their soul Hungarians have a positive and optimistic attitude to life. Mr Grunenwald reckons that by studying consumer and shoppers insights in detail and by relying on Nestlé’s international experiences the magic circle of price sensitivity and discounts can be broken. With Nestlé being a truly ‘glocal’ company, it has global goals, experiences and infrastructure but operates with local implementation, partnerships and production, maximally taking local interests into consideration. The managing director is convinced that consumer opinion on fresh product categories, how these products are presented, managed and positioned on the shopper route play a key role in the competition between retailers. Nestlé reacts to this trend with thematic activities. In line with the company motto ‘Good Food. Good Life’, it is Nestlé’s mission to familiarise consumers with nourishing dishes made from quality ingredients. Among Nestlé’s thematic programmes one of the most important initiatives is the one educating parents, children and teachers about the significance of a nourishing breakfast. Nestlé’s business philosophy is built on Creating Shared Value – value for the company, society and future generations. In line with Nestlé’s global objectives, they have been building the Hungarian affiliate since 1991. At the moment Nestlé Hungary has more than 2,000 employees and so far nearly HUF 70 billion has been invested in development. Nestlé’s Hungarian production facilities give priority to certified Hungarian suppliers: 86 percent of suppliers are Hungarian and 80 percent of products made in Hungary are exported.

– Through our products, categories, innovations and concepts we introduce a better quality of life to an ever-wider group of consumers. As part of our Creating Shared Value programme we made 10 commitments in various domains. Working together with our retailer partners, our objective is long-term and sustainable growth and we try to achieve this by means of integrating thematic, educational and lifestyle programmes into the shopping experience – told Jean Grunenwald, the managing director of Nestlé Hungary