Schneider Electric Names New Chief Sustainability Officer After Surprise CEO Change: 6 Things to Know

Sustainable IT and energy management specialist Schneider Electric has named Chris Leong as chief sustainability officer (CSO). The move comes roughly two months after Schneider Electric's board installed Olivier Blum to succeed Peter Herweck as CEO.

Here are six things to know about Schneider Electric's business and sustainability strategy, and Leong's executive experience.

1. Business Scope and Scale: Schneider Electric, founded around 1836, is based in Paris, France. The company, backed by more than 150,000 employees worldwide, positions itself as the "digital partner for sustainability and efficiency" for "homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries." Annual revenue was €36 billion (US$38.4 billion) in fiscal year 2023, a 13% organic growth rate from fiscal year 2022.

2. Business Focus: Schneider Electric's overall business generally spans four areas as:

1. Buildings, which is experiencing "growing demand for renovation, retrofit and sustainability initiatives related to energy efficiency."
2. Data center & networks.
3. Infrastructure, which serves electric utilities.
4. Industry, which sells a combination of Energy Management and Industrial Automation.

3. Surprise CEO Change: Schneider Electric's business is growing, but the board wants even faster growth. The evidence: The board ousted former CEO Peter Herweck and installed Olivier Blum as the company's new chief executive officer in November 2024. The surprise move arrived roughly one week after Schneider Electric announced strong quarterly financial results, and less than one month after the company acquired 75% of liquid cooling data center specialist Motivair for $850 million.

4. Sustainability Strategy and Goals: Schneider Electric's sustainability strategy is outlined here.

5. New Chief Sustainability Officer - Chris Leong Responsibilities: Chris Leong shifts from chief marketing officer (CMO) to CSO, and she remains a member of the executive committee. Leong apparently succeeded former CSO Agustin Lopez Diaz, who shifted to North America operations leader in April 2024.

As CSO, Leong's mission is to "advance the company’s sustainability commitments and goals, continuing to strengthen its leadership position in the field," the company said.

​Leong joined Schneider Electric in January 2012 as executive VP of digital customer experience. In March 2015 she become CMO. Leong previously held key posts at Nokia and WPP Group.

6. Executive Perspectives: In a comment posted on LinkedIn, Leong wrote: "At Schneider, #Sustainability is our enduring purpose that inspires us to solve the biggest challenges of our generation. More than just a mission; it's the "why" behind everything we do at Schneider. It is our guiding north star that ignites our curiosity, encouraging us to question the status quo and unleash innovative ideas to overcome challenges that may seem daunting. It is thanks to our determination to turn ambitions into actions that we are a decarbonization champion, relentlessly pursuing energy efficiency, automation, and digitization innovation that makes a difference. We firmly believe that a just transition enabling an inclusive economy is the backbone to bridge progress and sustainability for all, paving the way towards our collective Net-Zero ambition."

Chief Sustainability Officers: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.