Chris Leong leaves Schneider Electric after 6 months as CSO

Chris Leong, who became Schneider Electric’s Chief Sustainability Officer in January, has left the company to take on a role at Ecolab.

Leong was Chief Marketing Officer at Schneider Electric for a decade before being appointed CSO six months ago. She’s the first person to have held the Chief Sustainability Officer title, though others have had a C-level sustainability responsibility before: Emmanuel Lagarrigue was Chief Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation Officer from 2016 to 2021 and Gwenaelle Avice Huet was Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer from 2022 to 2023.

She is now Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer at US-headquartered water treatment firm Ecolab, based in Hong Kong.

“It’s been a true privilege to contribute to the world’s most sustainable company’s growth journey, innovating for impact, and driving progress and sustainability for all,” Leong said in a Linkedin post announcing her new role.

Chris Leong background and new responsibilites

Before her nearly 14 years at Schneider Electric, Leong held marketing and business executive positions at Nokia, and PR group WPP. She is also a member of Nestlé’s board sustainability committee.

At Ecolab, she will lead a team of associates in global marketing, sustainability and innovation to establish the firm “as the ultimate recognised sustainability impact brand in water, hygiene, infection prevention, and cooling technologies”.

Who will replace Leong as Schneider Electric CSO

Schneider Electric is yet to announce a replacement for Leong, and did not immediately answer CSO Futures’ request on this topic.

The firm has an ambition to earn 80% of its revenue from ‘impact’ solutions by 2025 and a near-term science-based target to cut absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 76% and absolute Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030. 

According to its latest sustainability report, Schneider has cut Scope 1 emissions by 51% since 2021, and Scope 3 by 19%.

Read Schneider Electric’s Global Head of Sustainability Sorouch Kheradmand’s recent interview with CSO Futures.