ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss food giant Nestle said on Wednesday it would propose vice chairman Pablo Isla to be its next chairman as it announced that current chair and company veteran Paul Bulcke will step down in April 2026.

Bulcke, a 70-year-old Belgian and Swiss national who has been chairman of the board since April 2017, joined Nestle in 1979 and served as the company's CEO from 2008 to 2016.

Isla, a Spaniard who was CEO of Zara owner Inditex from 2005 to 2011 and chairman and CEO of Inditex from 2011 to 2022, joined Nestle's board of directors in 2018.