Olivier Blum Named New CEO of Schneider Electric
Olivier Blum has been appointed CEO of Schneider Electric, replacing Peter Herweck, who had only recently taken over the top job at the French energy-management equipment and software maker.
The board decided that Schneider Electric’s strategy was not being decisively or collaboratively implemented as hoped, and that the CEO’s style was not a fit, JPMorgan analysts told clients.
The board is led by Chairman Jean-Pascal Tricoire, who built Schneider into one of France’s biggest companies with a market value of €137 billion (£115bn), through a series of deals during his 17-year run as CEO.
Herweck had been CEO of Schneider, which specialises in digital transformation of energy management and automation, only since May 2023.
On the face of it, Herweck had been doing a good job during his year-and-a-half tenure: Schneider’s share price has risen by more than 50% since he took the top job - 31% this year alone - as the company enjoys rising demand for its energy-management solutions, spurred by the AI-driven boom for data centres and government policies encouraging industry to use only electricity.
Price-fixing fine
Apart from disagreements over the speed of implementation and direction of Schneider Electric’s strategy, two other factors might have influenced Herweck going.
First, Schneider Electric was one of the companies fined by the French competition authority last month over a price-fixing pack. Schneider, was one of a group of companies fined €470 million on 30 October for colluding to fix prices for electrical equipment. This was during the period between 2021 and 2018, well before Herweck took over as CEO. Schneider was hit with the heaviest penalty of €207 million. The companies all said in statements that they disagree with the antitrust regulators and may appeal.
Second, Schneider has struggled to meet high demand due to supply constraints that hit its sales growth in North America, particularly in the residential buildings market in the US.
Who is Olivier Blum?
New CEO Olivier Blum, a 54-year-old French national, has been with Schneider for more than 30 years. Before his present role as technology and operations leader of Schneider’s biggest division, he held a wide array of positions at the group including group sustainability and human resources director, as well as country head for India and strategy and business leader in China.
“I am fortunate to hold a unique position in the company, having gained diverse experience through various roles across different geographies,” he told our sister title Sustainability Magazine.
“The fact that I had this combination of being in sales, marketing, product development, then at one point took over a smaller business unit globally, then HR, then chief strategy and sustainability – this combination of experience gives me a different view on my current role and the value of energy management to our customer, and of course to Schneider.”
Blum added that the range of roles he has had after nearly 32 years with Schneider Electric have aided his understanding of sustainability, including when he was Chief HR Officer – which “has given me another angle on ESG, more on the social side”.
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