Schneider Electric
French listed group (Euronext Paris: SU) supplying electrification, industrial automation and software, with about 160,000 employees. It owns AVEVA and agreed in June 2026 to buy Cognite for $3.1 billion.
Industry: Energy management and industrial automation | Location: Rueil-Malmaison, France | Founded: 1836
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a French energy technology company that supplies electrification, automation and digital products to industries, businesses and homes. Its shares trade on Euronext Paris under the ticker SU, and it is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices. The group is headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, France. In a release of 30 June 2026 it said it had 160,000 employees and operated in more than 100 countries.
The business traces to 1836, when the brothers Adolphe and Eugène Schneider took over an iron foundry in Le Creusot, France. It moved into electrical equipment by acquiring Télémécanique, Square D and Merlin Gerin between 1988 and 1992, and adopted the name Schneider Electric in 1999. Jean-Pascal Tricoire was chief executive from 2006 until 2023 and is listed as chairman. Peter Herweck succeeded him and was replaced by Olivier Blum, the current chief executive, in November 2024.
Its brands include Square D, APC, Clipsal, Modicon and AVEVA, the industrial software company it owns outright. In October 2024 it agreed to take a controlling interest in Motivair. In December 2024 it announced a partnership with Nvidia to design data center cooling systems, and in March 2025 it said it planned to invest more than $700 million in its United States operations through 2027.
Acquisitions have shaped the portfolio. Schneider completed the purchase of American Power Conversion in 2007, Telvent in 2011 and Invensys in 2014. It took a 60 percent stake in AVEVA in 2017, bought the electrical and automation business of India's Larsen and Toubro in 2018, completed the purchase of the remaining AVEVA shares in January 2023 and finished acquiring the climate consultancy EcoAct in November 2023. Wikipedia reports 2025 revenue of 40.15 billion euros and operating income of 6.69 billion euros.
On 30 June 2026 Schneider agreed to buy all of Cognite Holding, the Norwegian industrial data and AI software company, for $3.1 billion in cash. Cognite reported 2025 revenue above $170 million. It will join AVEVA and be reported within Schneider's Industrial Automation business once regulators approve the deal.
Leadership
- Olivier Blum, Chief Executive Officer
- Caspar Herzberg, Chief Executive Officer of AVEVA; member of the Schneider Electric Executive Committee