Nestlé has named Richard Xu Yao-dong as Head of Human Resources for its Greater China region, filling a vacancy that has been open since late April. Xu, currently HR Director and Strategic HR Program Director for FrieslandCampina China, will step down from his post on August 31 and officially assume the new role on September 1. His successor at the Dutch dairy giant is yet to be appointed. The move comes as Nestlé undertakes its most sweeping organizational overhaul in years, with China—its second-largest market—at the heart of the transformation.

Xu brings nearly two decades of HR leadership experience across sectors including pharmaceuticals, spirits, toys, and dairy. He has held senior roles at Novartis, Diageo, Mattel, and FrieslandCampina, with assignments spanning China, North Asia, the U.S., and Europe. He has steered HR through multiple M&A and business turnarounds—including Diageo’s acquisition of Swellfun and restructuring rounds at Novartis—and is known for building agile, cross-functional teams.

During his six-year tenure at FrieslandCampina, Xu diversified the China team’s talent mix: employees from outside the traditional infant formula sector now account for 70% of the workforce, up from less than 30%. A proponent of “fluid organizations” over rigid hierarchies, he once required department heads to host livestream shopping sessions—not for sales targets, but to keep leadership close to frontline consumer trends.

The appointment aligns with Nestlé CEO Philipp Navratil’s push to flatten structures, cut redundancies, and boost efficiency—particularly across white-collar roles—while leveraging AI to streamline workflows. In Greater China, the leadership refresh is already well underway: a new regional chief, Kais Marzouki, is in place, business units including PetCare, Coffee, Hsu Fu Chi, and Culinary have new heads, and Wyeth Nutrition has been consolidated into the infant nutrition division.

Navratil has emphasized local accountability, noting that while headquarters will support, the China team must lead market strategy and drive performance. Xu’s mandate will span talent strategy, organizational design, and performance management as Nestlé sharpens its focus on agility and growth in the world’s most competitive consumer market.

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