Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: JEFF HAMILTON

Hamilton stepped in as CEO of Arlington-based Nestlé’s Zone Americas division and joined the executive board on July 1. He succeeded Steve Presley, who worked at the company for almost 30 years. Hamilton previously served as business head of Purina PetCare Zone Europe. Now, he oversees Nestlé’s business in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 1991, Hamilton began his career with Purina as a sales representative before holding several leadership positions, including 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.

In the first half of 2025, Nestlé exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for earnings, achieving 2.9% in organic sales growth. The company is facing rising costs, however, due to tariffs — especially for coffee and cocoa — but it’s absorbing some of those expenses to maintain prices and retain customers. Nestlé is also investing about

$1.27 billion in Brazil between 2025 and 2028 to boost its coffee, cocoa and milk production.

Hamilton earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from DePauw University and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

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