Nestlé Retires Magdi Batato, Re-Hires Stephanie Pullings Hart as Head of Operations

May 30, 2023

Batato retires after 30 plus years; Pullings Hart returns after five years away.

Stephanie Pullings Hart will return to Nestlé SA on July 1 to become deputy head of operations, eventually replacing the retiring Magdi Batato as head of operations and an executive board member by Jan. 1, 2024.

Batato announced plans to retire from Nestle SA in early 2024 after more than 30 years at the Swiss company. He held various roles across three continents and currently is responsible for the operations of hundreds of Nestlé factories across the globe. He also oversees Nestlé’s procurement and logistics areas and leads Nestlé's sustainability work.

Until 2018, Pullings Hart spent 23 years at Nestlé, with roles of increasing responsibility in manufacturing, factory management, supply chain, research and development and human resources. She worked in several of the company’s businesses and across multiple continents.

She currently is senior vice president of operations for eyeglass retailer Warby Parker, responsible for manufacturing, supply chain and customer experience. Earlier, she was senior vice president of global operations for Beyond Meat, where she transformed the company’s manufacturing and supply chain activities.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.