Schneider ousts Herweck as CEO and replaces him with Blum
4 November 2024 
Schneider Electric has dismissed its CEO Peter Herweck with immediate effect and replaced him with Olivier Blum “to accelerate the execution of its strategy and engage into the next phase of its development”.
Schneider’s board says it decided to remove Herweck as CEO “due to divergences in the execution of the company roadmap at a time of significant opportunities”. It has thanked Herweck “for his role at the helm of Schneider Electric and his dedication to the group that he has led for the last 18 months”.
The board says that its Governance, Nominations & Sustainablity Committee conducted “a comprehensive process” to find the new CEO, during which it considered “several high-quality external and internal candidates”.
“The board determined that Olivier Blum’s skills and personality made him the perfect candidate to lead the company, notably his extensive knowledge of Schneider Electric, recognised exceptional leadership, and strong track record in setting a vision, defining a strategy and executing the required transformations,” according to Fred Kindle, Schneider’s vice-chairman and lead independent director.
Blum, 54, is a French citizen who has been leading Schneider’s Energy Management business – its largest – since 2022, and has been a member of its executive committee since 2014. He was previously Group Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, and Chief Human Resources Officer as well as having various other roles, including five years as president of Schneider’s Indian operation, and a similar period as strategy and business leader in China. Blum has also been an Aveva board director for the past five years.
“I welcome Olivier Blum as our new CEO and I wish to thank Peter Herweck for leading Schneider Electric over the past 18 months,” says Schneider Electric chairman, Jean-Pascal Tricoire. “For more than 30 years, Olivier has been an outstanding and transformative leader at Schneider Electric, deeply understanding our business, our operating model and culture and focusing on future technology and strategic development, while delivering strong and consistent operational performance, as shown by the acceleration of Energy Management under his tenure.
“I have complete confidence in his ability to lead Schneider Electric in this new phase of focused acceleration, in line with the goals announced during the Capital Market Day.”
