VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — Wan Ling Martello, chief executive officer of Zone Asia, Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa, plans to leave Nestle S.A. at the end of the year, the Vevey-based company said Oct. 18. Taking her place will be Chris Johnson, currently head of group human resources and business services.

Ms. Martello joined Nestle as chief financial officer in 2011. After she became c.e.o. of Zone A.O.A. in 2015, the zone became the most profitable and fastest growing business within Nestle. Through the first nine months of 2018, Zone A.O.A. reported sales of 15.8 billion Swiss francs ($15.9 billion), up 3.1% from 15.3 billion Swiss francs in the same time of the previous year.

“I would like to thank Wan Ling wholeheartedly for all her great achievements,” said U. Mark Schneider, c.e.o. of Nestle. “Her drive and her enthusiasm for entrepreneurship are a great motivation for all of us. While I regret to see her leave Nestle, I respect her decision.”

Mr. Johnson has worked at Nestle for 35 years. He has served as market head in Taiwan and in Japan.

“Chris is not an interim solution, and I think Chris has made significant contributions to this business, and the zone management job, the zone c.e.o. job, is not an easy one, and to really do that, you need on-the-ground experience,” Mr. Schneider said. “You need to have managed, ideally, a country market, but you also need to understand how the entire organization works. He brings that to the table, and I’m very excited with the leadership that he can bring to that zone going forward.”

Béatrice Guillaume-Grabisch, currently c.e.o. of Nestle Germany A.G., will succeed Mr. Johnson as head of group human resources and business services.