Important Milestones in the life of Stephan Schmidheiny
| 1947 | Born as son of Max Schmidheiny and Adda Schmidheiny-Scherrer. Raised in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, with his sister Marietta and his brothers Thomas und Alexander. |
| 1969 | Apprenticeship with formation as shift foreman at Eternit Brazil |
| 1972 | Obtained Doctorate in Law from University of Zurich |
| 1974 | Joined the family business Eternit AG in Niederurnen as head of sales |
| 1975 | Appointed Delegate of the Board of Directors of Eternit AG, Niederurnen |
| 1976 | Assumed from his father the leadership of Swiss Eternit Group (SEG) Launched innovation program NT („New technology“) to develop asbestos free products Election to the Board of Directors of Union Bank of Switzerland (later UBS); resigned from Board in 1996 |
| 1979 | Start of diversification outside the construction sector with acquisition of Distral Group (newspaper stands) |
| 1981 | Election to the Board of Directors of BBC (later ABB); election to the Board Committee in 1995; resigned from Board in 1997 Investments in Forest Industry in Chile |
| 1984 | Distribution of Estate: Thomas Schmidheiny takes over the Cement Group Holderbank (later Holcim), Stephan Schmidheiny the Swiss Eternit Group Established the philanthropic FUNDES Foundation in Panama to encourage small business entrepreneurs in Latin America |
| 1985 | Established SMH to save the Swiss Watch industry together with Nicholas Hayek. Joint venture to assume control of ASUAG-SSIH (later Swatch Group); Board Member 1986 - 1994 |
| 1986 | Election to the Board of Directors of Landis & Gyr; 1987 majority shareholder of L&G Holding; 1995 sold L&G shares to Elektrowatt; 1996 resigned from Board |
| 1988 | Election to the Board of Directors of Nestlé; resigned from Board in 2003 |
| 1989 | Acquisition of Wild-Leitz; 1990 merger with Cambridge Instruments to LEICA |
| 1990 | Appointed “Principal Advisor for Business and Industry” to the Secretary General UNCED in preparation of 1992 Rio Earth Summit Founded Business Council for Sustainable Development |
| 1992 | UNO Conference on Environment & Development in Rio de Janeiro, known as Rio Earth Summit Publication of bestseller „Changing Course – A Global Business Perspective on Development and the Environment”; coined term „eco-efficiency” |
| 1993 | Election to the Board of World Resources Institute (WRI), Washington; resigned from the Board in 2001 Doctor honoris causa INCAE Business School, Costa Rica Founded philanthropic Alexander-Schmidheiny-Stiftung in memoriam of his late brother (died 1992). The charitable foundation promotes activities in the field of arts, culture and social issues (Chairman of the Board of Trustees) |
| 1994 | Founded philanthropic AVINA STIFTUNG in Switzerland. The foundation strives for social and ecological sustainability, combining philanthropic activities with an entrepreneurial spirit (Chairman of the Board of Trustees) |
| 1995 | 1995 Expanded the Daros Art Collection inherited from his late brother Alexander Election to the Chairman’s Council of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; resigned in 2002 |
| 1996 | Doctor honoris causa of Yale University, New Haven |
| 1997 | Publication of „Financing Change – The Financial Community, Eco-efficiency, and Sustainable Development“ |
| 1998 | Established Management Company NUEVA SA in Costa Rica |
| 1999 | Election to the International Advisory Board of the Panama Canal Authority |
| 2000 | Appointed Honorary Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) |
| 2001 | Opening of Daros Exhibitions in Löwenbräu Areal Zurich (until 2008). Since 2010 art works of the Daros Collection are exhibited in the permanent collection of Fondation Beyeler in Riehen (Basel). Doctor honoris causa of Rollins College (Florida) Doctor honoris causa of Universidad Católica Andres Bello (Caracas) Established Fundación AVINA, a sister foundation of the Swiss AVINA STIFTUNG. The foundation aims at creating and implementing a new conception of philanthropy for Latin America, which combines the objectives of non-profit activities with methods and tools taken from the business world. Decision to gradually retire from all functions and the public life |
| 2002 | Publication of “Walking the Talk: The Business Case for Sustainable Development” |
| 2003 | Established VIVA Trust, by irrevocably donating $1.1 billion, mainly in stock of the GrupoNueva Holding Company. The yields of the VIVA Trust, managed by independent Trustees, are used to fund Fundación AVINA in Latin America. |
| 2009 | Publication of a biography “Sein langer Weg zu sich selbst – Erbe – Unternehmer – Philanthrop”; Stämpfli Verlag |
Developed by The Stocker Group 2007