Ulf Mark Schneider

Ulf Mark Schneider is a German-American businessman who ran two large multinational companies in succession. Born and raised in Neuwied, Germany, he holds a doctorate in economics from the University of St. Gallen and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and became a United States citizen in 2003. He began in finance roles at Franz Haniel and Cie. and its subsidiary Gehe, joined Fresenius in 2001 as chief financial officer of Fresenius Medical Care, and led the parent company Fresenius as chief executive from 2003 until June 2016. He was then appointed chief executive of Nestle, the first outsider to run it since 1922, serving from January 2017 to August 2024. At Nestle he shifted spending toward coffee, pet food, baby food, water and consumer health, divested US confectionery and ice cream businesses, and completed 85 acquisitions. He sits on the board of Roche and the supervisory board of Siemens.