Nestlé Announces New CEO Zone Americas to Replace Steve Presley

April 25, 2025

Jeff Hamilton, business head of Purina PetCare Zone Europe, will take over for the retiring Steve Presley, who has spent nearly 30 years with the company.

Andy Hanacek

Jeff Hamilton, CEO Zone Americas, Nestlé

Nestlé has announced that Steve Presley, executive vice president and CEO Zone Americas, will retire from the company, and that Jeff Hamilton, business head of Purina PetCare Zone Europe, will take his place as CEO Zone Americas.

Presley will leave his post on Apr. 30, 2025, and Hamilton will take on his new role effective July 1, 2025. Presley spent nearly 30 years working with the company.

Hamilton, too, has a decades-long history with the company. He has worked for Purina since 1991, starting out as a sales representative in the U.S. and working his way up through numerous leadership positions over the years. He was previously president and CEO of Nestlé Canada, president of Nestlé’s Foods Division in the U.S., and vice president of Marketing at Nestlé Purina Asia, Oceania and Africa. He was appointed to his current position in 2021.

Laurent Freixe, CEO Nestlé S.A., expressed the company’s gratitude for the years of service from Presley and wished him well in his future endeavors — and noted that the company was excited about Hamilton taking the reins.

“Jeff has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and a remarkable ability to inspire and motivate his teams,” Freixe said in the release. “We look forward to working with Jeff to drive our growth strategy in Zone AMS.”

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.