Bühler Group appoints Samuel Schär as CEO as leadership transition takes effect

Bühler Group has confirmed that Samuel Schär has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 January 2026, completing a leadership transition that was first announced in April 2025 and marking a new chapter for the Switzerland-based technology group.

• Samuel Schär took over as CEO of Bühler Group on January 1, 2026, succeeding Stefan Scheiber.

• Scheiber was proposed as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors ahead of the Annual General Meeting in February 2026.

• The leadership change followed a long-planned succession process focused on continuity and stability.

Schär succeeded Stefan Scheiber, who was set to be nominated as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Bühler’s upcoming Annual General Meeting, scheduled for February 2026. The transition formed part of a carefully planned succession process designed to ensure continuity in leadership, strategy, and company culture.

On the occasion of the CEO handover, Schär highlighted Bühler’s role in addressing sustainability challenges across multiple industries. “More than ever, Bühler has an important role to play in the sustainable transformation of the food, feed, and mobility industries,” he said. “I am excited to lead the company into its next stage of development.”

Schär said his focus as CEO would remain consistent with Bühler’s long-term priorities. “Our focus will remain on creating value for our customers, driving meaningful innovation, and growing our business sustainably,” he said. “Together with our global teams, we will continue to build strong partnerships and deliver solutions that enable our customers’ success.”

The appointment was framed by the company as a signal of stability for employees, customers, and partners. Schär brought two decades of experience within Bühler, having joined the company 20 years earlier to establish its Nanotechnology business unit. Over the course of his career at Bühler, he held several senior leadership roles across core parts of the organization.

After founding the Nanotechnology unit, Schär went on to lead the Grinding and Dispersing business area for several years. In 2013, he joined the Group Executive Board, where he took responsibility for the Advanced Materials segment, a role he held for a decade. More recently, he oversaw the Global Services and Sales organization, giving him broad exposure to both Bühler’s technology portfolio and its global customer base.

Schär studied physics at EPFL Lausanne in Switzerland, a background that aligned closely with Bühler’s engineering-driven culture and its focus on applied science and industrial innovation. His career path within the company was presented as an example of internal development and long-term leadership cultivation.

The leadership transition also marked a shift in responsibilities for Stefan Scheiber, who had led Bühler as CEO for the past 10 years. Scheiber was set to be nominated for election as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the February 2026 Annual General Meeting, following a 35-year career at the company.

Scheiber joined Bühler more than three decades ago and had been a member of Group Management for 20 years, holding a range of senior roles across different business areas before becoming CEO. During his tenure at the helm, Bühler expanded its global footprint and reinforced its focus on sustainability, digitalization, and customer-centric innovation.

If elected Chairman, Scheiber would succeed Calvin Grieder, the current Chairman of the Board of Directors, who planned to step down at the Annual General Meeting. Grieder was set to conclude a 25-year period of service that included roles as CEO, Member of the Board of Directors, and Chairman.

Bühler credited Grieder with playing a formative role in shaping the company’s strategic direction over a quarter-century, overseeing periods of growth, transformation, and increased internationalization. His departure marked the end of an era for the company’s top leadership, coinciding with the broader generational transition now under way.

The handover from Scheiber to Schär was positioned as part of a deliberate effort to balance renewal with continuity. By appointing a CEO who had spent his entire executive career within the company, Bühler aimed to maintain institutional knowledge while continuing to adapt to evolving market demands.

As CEO, Schär inherited a group operating at the intersection of food processing, materials engineering, and mobility solutions, with sustainability and efficiency playing increasingly central roles in customer decision-making. Bühler had consistently emphasized its responsibility to support more resource-efficient food systems and industrial processes, themes that Schär echoed in his first public remarks as CEO.

The coming months were expected to focus on ensuring a smooth operational transition, while preparing for the formal changes to the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting. With Schär in the CEO role and Scheiber moving toward the chair position, Bühler signaled that its leadership team remained committed to long-term strategy rather than abrupt shifts in direction.

For customers and partners, the transition offered a sense of predictability at a time of broader uncertainty across global food, feed, and industrial markets. Bühler framed the change not as a break from the past, but as an evolution built on deep internal experience, technical expertise, and a shared understanding of the company’s role in enabling sustainable industrial transformation.