Schlemmer appoints Sven Schneider as Chief Financial Officer

The Schlemmer Group today announced the appointment of Sven Schneider as Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2018. Schneider will succeed Christian von der Linde, who has served as Chief Financial Officer of Schlemmer since July 2012. Christian von der Linde will continue to serve as CFO of Schlemmer through December 31, 2017 with the full support of the Board and management, and be available to Schneider during January 2018 to ensure a smooth and effective transition.

Sven Schneider brings 20 years of experience driving profitable, cash-generative growth for international, middle market companies. Schneider will join Schlemmer from Talis Group, a privately held company, where he most recently served as CFO. Prior to Talis, Schneider spent five years as CFO of Chemetall, where he significantly increased the company’s sales and profitability through the successful financing and integration of multiple international acquisitions and other business development efforts. Schneider also initiated several organizational improvements spanning leadership development and value-generating enhancements to Chemetall’s business and administration processes and global IT systems. Before joining Chemetall in 2005, he led the Finance and Controlling functions at Vacuumschmelze and also worked at Britax Group.

Bernd Gottschalk, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Schlemmer, said: “We are very pleased to have Sven Schneider join us in 2018 as our new CFO as Schlemmer embarks on its next phase of growth. His proven experience guiding the development of international, mid-sized companies will enable us to even more effectively execute our strategy, including the expansion of our international operations.”
Gottschalk continued: “At the same time, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Christian von der Linde for his lasting contributions to Schlemmer and for his full support during this transition. The Board and Management Team of Schlemmer wish him the very best in all of his future endeavors.” 
Josef Minster, Chief Executive Officer of Schlemmer, said: “Christian has played an important role in the success of our business as a result of his collaborative approach that earned him trust of those he worked with, including our employees and our business partners. I look forward to working alongside Sven to build upon this success as we work to accelerate our growth as a leading global technology partner for the automotive industry and other high-growth industrial sectors.”

During his tenure at Schlemmer, Christian von der Linde strengthened the company’s central functions and successfully supported the company’s growth initiatives. Furthermore, he paved the way for Schlemmer’s international expansion by strengthening the finance function and promoting greater cooperation among the company’s headquarters and local country affiliates.
Over the past 20 years, Schlemmer has achieved double digit annual revenue growth rates, and is excellently positioned to continue on this path as the company executes its strategy to address developing megatrends in the automotive industry such as connectivity, e-mobility, autonomous driving and safety. Under the guiding concept “ONE SPIRIT 2020”, Schlemmer’s annual turnover is expected to increase to nearly €500 million by 2020.