A business does not always begin with a business idea. Sometimes it starts with a personal interest that refuses to remain a hobby. In Miriam Schnyder’s case, that interest was art and the possibilities of glass. What began as a creative curiosity eventually developed into a broader professional vision, bringing together entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, and a very personal approach to design.
That journey now spans SCHNYDER Group Holding AG and Art X on Glass AG. As CEO of SCHNYDER Group and founder of Art X on Glass, Miriam works across two connected worlds. One is rooted in the established glass industry, with its focus on expertise, precision, and practical applications. The other explores glass as an artistic medium capable of carrying memories, emotions, and individual stories.
The connection between the two is what makes her approach distinctive. Rather than treating creativity as something separate from business, she has made it part of the way she thinks about growth, leadership, and the future of her companies.
From Corporate Experience to Entrepreneurship
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Miriam gained experience in a very different environment. After completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Zurich, she began her professional career at Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel. Working within a major international company gave her exposure to a structured business environment and helped develop the professional discipline that would later support her own ventures.
She went on to complete an Executive MBA at the University of Zurich before taking the step into entrepreneurship. Moving from an established corporate environment to running businesses of her own meant taking on a very different level of responsibility. Decisions that once belonged to a larger organisation became hers to make.
That transition also shaped her view of leadership. Miriam learned that being a leader does not mean trying to do everything personally. She places importance on finding capable people, giving them responsibility, and trusting their expertise. She has also recognised the value of having people around her who can provide honest advice and challenge her thinking.
One person who has played an important role in that development is Yasmin Gressel, CEO of SCHNYDER Glasworld GmbH, whom Miriam has described as a mentor and source of support in her professional journey.
Bringing SCHNYDER Group Together
Miriam’s role today extends across several businesses within SCHNYDER Group Holding AG. The group brings together companies with long histories in the glass sector, including Bauglas and Glasworld.
Their histories are different. Bauglas dates back to 1911, while Glasworld, formerly known as Glasexpress, began in 2004 as a one-person operation. For years, the businesses operated as competitors before coming together under SCHNYDER Group Holding AG in March 2021.
That history gives Miriam a business that combines experience from different parts of the glass industry. Her role as CEO is not simply about overseeing individual projects. It involves looking at the wider direction of the group, supporting the businesses within it, and making sure they can develop while working toward a shared future.
The holding structure also reflects how Miriam thinks about business. She sees the group as a place where different strengths can exist together rather than forcing every part of the organisation into the same model.
That approach gives her room to focus on both commercial development and the creative opportunities that exist within the glass sector.
When Glass Becomes a Medium for Expression
The artistic side of Miriam’s work comes through Art X on Glass AG, which she founded to explore what happens when glass moves beyond its conventional role.
The company specialises in reverse glass painting, a technique in which the artwork is created on the back of a glass surface and viewed from the front. Unlike ordinary painting, the artist must work in reverse, carefully planning the order of colours and details that will eventually appear in the finished image.
The technique is demanding, but it also creates a distinctive visual effect. Light interacts with the glass and the painted layers, giving the artwork a quality that changes depending on the surroundings and the viewer’s perspective.
For Miriam, that makes glass particularly interesting as an artistic material. It can become part of an interior rather than simply being placed inside it.
Art X on Glass pieces can be incorporated into homes and other spaces through applications such as wall art, backsplashes, shower panels, and tabletops. This approach allows clients to live with the artwork rather than treating it as something that only belongs in a gallery.
Creating Work That Has Meaning
The value Miriam places on individuality is one of the clearest connections between her leadership and her creative work.
Art X on Glass is built around handmade pieces rather than mass production. Every artwork is created individually, meaning each finished piece has its own character. The company also works around the stories and ideas of its clients, allowing personal experiences and emotions to influence the creative direction.
That can make the relationship between the client and the artwork very different from buying a standard decorative product. A finished piece may represent a particular memory, feeling, relationship, or stage of life.
For Miriam, this emotional connection is important. She wants the work to have a reason for existing beyond simply looking attractive.
Her own interest in painting helped lead her toward this approach. Over time, she began to see similarities between painting and the glass work already surrounding her professionally. Both could play with light, colour, balance, and atmosphere. Art X on Glass became a way to bring those interests together.
Where Creativity Meets Leadership
The same belief in individuality shapes Miriam’s leadership. She gives creative people room to develop ideas, trusts them with responsibility, and encourages them to contribute to the business while maintaining SCHNYDER Group’s standards for precision, reliability, and quality. She also sees technology, including artificial intelligence, as a useful support rather than a replacement for the human skill behind handcrafted work.
Looking ahead, Miriam continues to develop both sides of her vision. SCHNYDER Group connects her to the established glass industry, while Art X on Glass gives her space to explore its artistic possibilities, with ambitions to reach wider audiences through exhibitions, art fairs, and private collections. Her journey brings together corporate experience, entrepreneurship, business, art, and craftsmanship, showing how tradition and innovation can work alongside each other.
For Miriam, the future of glass is about more than technical possibilities. It is also about what people can feel, remember, and express through the material.
“Glass offers a rare meeting point between craftsmanship and creativity, giving artists the freedom to transform a familiar material into something personal, expressive, and entirely their own.”
