Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland, April 2026 – Markus Graf has taken on a new role as Global Head of Talent at Nestlé, stepping into a critical leadership position to drive the company’s global talent strategy. In this role, he will lead the end-to-end talent lifecycle across more than 270,000 employees globally, focusing on talent acquisition, leadership development, succession planning, culture transformation, and building a future-ready workforce.
Prior to joining Nestlé, Markus Graf served as Global Head of Talent & Transformation at Novartis, where he led the global talent and transformation agenda for a $50B commercial business. His role focused on strengthening leadership capabilities, organizational health, and talent strategies to drive growth and impact across global markets.
Earlier at Novartis, he held the position of Global Head of Talent, where he architected enterprise-wide talent strategies, including executive assessment, succession planning, workforce planning, and digital talent experience for over 110,000 employees worldwide.
Before Novartis, he served as Head of Talent Management, Organizational Development, Culture, and Learning for Europe & Africa at PepsiCo, where he led large-scale people transformation initiatives across a $12B business, impacting over 50,000 employees across multiple geographies.
Earlier in his career, he held senior HR leadership roles at Merck Group and spent over a decade with Boehringer Ingelheim, where he led global talent acquisition transformation and HR strategy across multiple functions and regions.
In addition to his corporate leadership roles, Markus Graf is also a Lecturer at University of St. Gallen, contributing to MBA and Executive MBA programs in people management and change leadership.
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company, operating in nearly every country with approximately 273,000 employees globally. Headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé is driven by its purpose of enhancing quality of life through nutrition, health, and wellness, offering a diverse portfolio across all stages of life and moments of the day.
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