Dieter Schnabel

Dieter Schnabel owns Helm AG, a chemical marketing firm with annual revenue of over $4.5 billion and offices in 30 countries.By its own account, Helm began in 1900 as a Hamburg-based import-export business "for merchandise of every description."Dieter's father, Hermann, took over from the namesake founder, Karl O. Helm, in 1950 and set a path focused on chemicals.After succeeding his father as chairman of the executive board in 1984, Dieter continued to expand overseas.Dieter's oldest son, Stephan, who heads the Crop Protection business unit, represents the third family generation to serve on the executive board.