🔵 Ferrero France: a “surprise” departure that isn’t one

The departure of Nicolas Neykov, CEO of Ferrero France, has been presented as a surprise. It is precisely this word that calls for a closer look.

Why “surprise”? Because neither retailers, nor the HR ecosystem, nor market observers had anticipated the move. No prepared succession, no public signals, and timing announced just before the rentrée. In reality, this surprise is a construction of communication.

Ferrero, a highly centralized family group, does not operate through a national lens but a global one. The United States has become the critical battleground: after the acquisition of WK Kellogg Co, the group is playing a decisive game there. Neykov is being sent to where the battle matters most.

His successor, Mauro De Felip, did not land here by chance. With twenty-eight years of experience across France, China, the UK, and most recently the Gulf, he is a proven expansion leader. In Dubai, he doubled the market within five years. In China, he successfully adapted Ferrero’s DNA to local codes, multiplying innovations and digital partnerships. In other words: a leader designed to steer diversification in France (ice cream, biscuits, snacks) and to accelerate innovation in a saturated market.

Behind the curtain, this “surprise” departure reveals three realities:

A strategic reallocation of talent at the global level: leaders are repositioned where the group’s survival and growth depend. A meticulously managed communication plan: announcing late avoids turbulence with retailers and competitors. A strong signal to the French market: Ferrero is appointing an expansion strategist, not just an administrator.

This is where HUMINT analysis comes in: reading not the announcement, but what it conceals. This was not an improvised exit, but a strategic orchestration in which “surprise” is weaponized to protect the essentials: continuity of power and momentum of growth.

Leaders know that in such moves, what matters is not the façade but the subtext: who moves the pieces, at what tempo, and for which game of influence. This is precisely where decryption becomes a lever.

Because beyond the press release, it is these invisible dynamics that shed light on the real stakes of boards and executive committees.

Ferrero offers a discreet lesson: surprise does not exist, it is manufactured.

#ExecutiveSearch #Leadership #HUMINT #Strategy #BoardDynamics #SuccessionPlanning #Influence