Schneider will take over from current CEO Paul Bulcke, who will go on to seek election as chairman at Nestlé's next Annual General Meeting on 6 April 2017.
“I am honoured and excited to have the opportunity to join Nestlé,” said Schneider.
‘Advancing nutrition’
“With consumers around the world taking a deeper interest in their personal health and wellbeing, Nestlé’s food and beverage business positions it well for advancing the vision of Nutrition, Health and Wellness.”
Schneider has been CEO of Fresenius Group a product and service provider for dialysis, hospitals and outpatient treatments since 2003.
During his career, he was group finance director for Gehe UK, a pharmaceutical wholesale and retail distributor.
Schneider currently serves on US chemical company DuPont’s board of directors.
Bulke said: “I’m looking forward to working with Ulf Mark Schneider for Nestlé’s continued success.”
“Schneider brings to Nestlé a wealth of proven and seasoned professional and personal skills which will blend very well with Nestlé’s experienced management and company culture.”
Future direction
Schneider’s experience bodes well for Nestlé's plans to strengthen its nutrition, health and wellness offerings.
Its acquisitions of medicinal food developers - Pamlab, Prometheus Laboratories and Vitaflo - over the last five years signal its intentions to focus on gastrointestinal and cognitive disorders such as depression, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Nestlé Health Science have also formed the Nutrition Science Partners Limited (NSP), a joint venture formed with Chi-Med in 2012. NSP focuses on gastrointestinal health and may in the future expand into the metabolic disease and brain health areas.
Nestlé Health Science also acquired a minority stake in Vital Foods in 2011. Vital foods are involved in the development of kiwifruit-based solutions for gastrointestinal conditions.