Schneider instead of Snabe: Former Nestle and Fresenius CEO Mark Schneider is to succeed Jim Hagemann Snabe as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens in two years at the latest.

The Munich-based technology group nominated the 59-year-old German-American for the Supervisory Board on Wednesday, to which he is to be elected in February for an initial term of four years. Incumbent Snabe (59) wants to extend his mandate until 2027, although he is no longer considered independent after almost twelve years on the Supervisory Board. "If I am lucky enough to be re-elected as Chairman in February 2025, I am planning a transition within the next two years," said the former SAP Co-CEO.

"With the nomination of Mark Schneider, we have up to two years to ensure a good transition," Snabe told the Reuters news agency. "It takes time to understand a company like Siemens." He has known Schneider for a long time and had already been in contact with him about a Supervisory Board mandate when he was still at the helm of Nestle. "The fact that he left there was almost a stroke of luck for us. Because as an active CEO, he would not have been able to lead the Siemens Supervisory Board." It was important to find a successor who had experience with global companies and at the same time understood the German management culture and co-determination.

Schneider was surprisingly replaced as head of the world's largest food company in August after almost eight years. Price increases had dampened growth, causing investors to lose confidence in the company and in Schneider. In 2017, the long-standing head of healthcare group Fresenius became the first outsider in almost a century to head the manufacturer of Nespresso, Maggi and KitKat. He restructured Nestle with sales and acquisitions, focusing on higher-growth areas and healthier foods.

Former Thyssenkrupp boss Martina Merz is making way for Schneider on the Siemens Supervisory Board. She wants to take on another Supervisory Board mandate instead, Siemens explained. Werner Brandt's mandate is to be extended early by four years until 2029 so that the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the Chairman of the Audit Committee do not change at the same time.

Snabe had only decided in the summer to remain Chairman of the Supervisory Board until 2027. He has been a member of the Board since 2013. Many institutional investors are critical of a term of office of more than twelve years. Snabe told Reuters that he had only received positive reactions. "I have held preliminary talks with investors and proxy advisors about my extension. I have not found anyone who sees this as problematic."

SNABE: GENERAL MEETING ONLY FOR IMPORTANT ISSUES

Siemens wants to hold the Annual General Meeting on February 13, 2025 in a virtual format again and obtain permission from shareholders to do so for the next two years. However, Snabe is addressing the critics of such online shareholder meetings: The virtual format is more efficient for "normal" annual general meetings, he says. "If there were difficult topics to discuss - such as the spin-off of Siemens Energy a few years ago - we would tend to hold the Annual General Meeting in person."

(Report by Alexander Hübner; Assistance: Paul Arnold in Zurich; Edited by Philipp Krach; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)