India, Sept. 2 -- Nestle S.A. has announced the immediate dismissal of Chief Executive Officer Laurent Freixe following an internal investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, an incident found to be in breach of the company's code of business conduct.

The probe, conducted with the support of external counsel and overseen by Chair Paul Bulcke and Lead Independent Director Pablo Isla, concluded that the relationship violated Nestle's ethical standards. Freixe departs after nearly four decades at the Swiss-headquartered multinational.

In an official statement released Monday, Nestle said, "The departure of Laurent Freixe follows an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct...