Stephan and Viktoria Schmidheiny
Stephan Schmidheiny was born in 1947, the second son of Max Schmidheiny (1908–1991) and Adda Schmidheiny-Scherrer (d. 1997). He grew up in Balgach in the Rhine Valley together with his siblings Marietta, Thomas and Alexander.
Through his entrepreneurial success and his commitment to sustainable development, Stephan Schmidheiny was in the international spotlight for many years. Following his father’s example, he made provision early on to hand over responsibility for his companies and initiatives to the next generation. In 2003, he withdrew completely from all executive functions. From then on, his personal interests and a different kind of quality of life took centre stage.
In October 2007, shortly before his 60th birthday, Stephan Schmidheiny suffered a tear in his aorta. His life was in acute danger, and he survived only narrowly. He experienced his survival as a life given to him anew – and as confirmation of the withdrawal he had voluntarily made four years earlier.
At the end of 2017, shortly after his 70th birthday, he stepped down from his last mandate as chair of the non-profit Avina Stiftung.
Today, Stephan Schmidheiny lives with his wife Viktoria Schmidheiny. Born in Vienna and a physician by profession, she shares his passion for music, art and culture.
Unternehmer
Pionier
Philanthrop
1970s
Taking over
Unternehmer1974 joined Eternit AG; 1976 overall management of the Swiss Eternit Group and launch of the innovation programme for asbestos-free products
1980s
Restructuring
Unternehmer1981 announcement of the exit from asbestos; 1982 entry into the Chilean forestry industry; 1985 stake in SMH (today’s Swatch Group); from 1989 sale of the Eternit holdings
Pionier1986 Chairman of IMI Geneva; 1989 merger with IMEDE to form the International Institute for Management Development IMD
Philanthrop1984 founding of Fundes
1990s
Shaping
UnternehmerEntrepreneur: Holdings and board mandates at companies such as ABB, Leica, SMH (today’s Swatch Group), Landis & Gyr, Nestlé and Union Bank of Switzerland; gradual development of a new industrial group in Latin America, brought together under the name GrupoNueva in 1998
Pionier1991 founding of the BCSD; Chief Advisor for Business and Industry to the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio and publication of “Changing Course”; 1995 WBCSD; 1996 Alliance for Global Sustainability and LACCSD; 1997 Co-Chair of the OECD High Level Advisory Group on the Environment
Philanthrop1993 Alexander Schmidheiny Stiftung; 1994 Avina Stiftung; from 1995 Daros Collection; support for Tate Modern
2000s
Handing over
Unternehmer2003 withdrawal from all executive functions; donation of GrupoNueva to the Viva Trust
Pionier2000 Honorary Chairman of the WBCSD; 2002 “Walking the Talk”
Philanthrop2001 Fundación Avina; 2002 MarViva; 2003 Viva Trust; exhibitions of the Daros Collection
October 2007 — Aortic tear
2010s
Letting go
Philanthrop2010 co-initiator of Inter Mediate; collaboration between Daros and the Fondation Beyeler; 2016 Switch House at Tate Modern; 2017 stepped down from his last mandate (chair of the Avina Stiftung)
Since 2020
Today
Music, art and culture, together with his wife Viktoria Schmidheiny
