Biography

Stephan and Viktoria Schmidheiny

Stephan Schmidheiny was born in 1947, the second son of Max Schmidheiny (1908–1991) and Adda Schmidheiny-Scherrer (1915-1997). He grew up in Balgach in the Rhine Valley together with his siblings Marietta, Thomas and Alexander.

Stephan Schmidheiny studied law at the University of Zurich and earned his doctorate in 1972 with the dissertation «Die Investitionsrisikogarantie» (Juris Verlag, Zurich). His student years coincided with the 1968 movement. As an elected member of the Grosser Studentenrat (student parliament) and co-founder of the Studenten-Ring, he advocated a factual, non-ideological approach to student politics. Formally established in 1970, the association stood for pluralism of opinion and democratic rule of law.

After earning his doctorate, Stephan Schmidheiny took on entrepreneurial responsibility within the family group at an early stage and, over the following decades, built his own commitment as an entrepreneur, pioneer of a sustainable economy and philanthropist.

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 it as a life given to him anew – and as confirmation of the retirement he had voluntarily undertaken 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.

From his first marriage to Ruth Schmidheiny (1949–2019), Stephan Schmidheiny has two children, who live out of the public eye. Today he lives with his wife Viktoria Schmidheiny. A native of Vienna and a physician, she shares his passion for music, art and culture.