[4] Schmitz started his career as planning and project engineer at STEAG in Essen, Germany, in 1986.

He then served at the VEBA AG in Düsseldorf, where he finally worked as deputy head of economic policy.

[4] In 1998 Schmitz was appointed as member of the executive board at RheinEnergie AG in Cologne.

[11] He has described RWE as a "cornerstone" and a "security partner" for the turnaround and the future of Germany's energy market.

[12] Schmitz requested from Germany's government to provide a stable political framework for the energy market of the coming decades in order to allow suppliers to set up business plans accordingly.