Fred Paul Schneider was born in Kitchener, Ontario on March 14, 1926 to parents Frederick Henry and Ella Daniels Schneider. He attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate Institute, graduated in 1947 from McMaster University with a B.A., and in 1949 from the University of Toronto with a Masters of Commerce degree. He married Frances Jean Cressman on July 11, 1953 with whom he had five children: Peter Frederick, Daniel John, Anne Cecile, Margaret Ella, and Thomas Ervin.

Schneider joined J.M. Schneider Ltd. in 1949 working in Cost Accounting and went on to hold a number of positions: By-Products Manager (1961), Vice-President (1963), Executive Vice-president (1967), President (1968), Chief Executive Officer (1969) and Chairman of the Board (1970). He retired from the company in 1989 as one of the last Schneider family members to run the company, but carried on as a member of the Board of the Directors. He first joined the Board in 1952 and became Chairman in 1991, a position he held until retiring in 1992.

Over the course of his career served as president of the Canadian Meat Council and as president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra Association, Inc. During the 1960's he was a trustee of the Board of Education, and from 1978-1984 was a Director of the Center in the Square. He was also a member of MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Association), an association which aids third world countries. An environmentalist, Schneider was also responsible for planning thousands of trees and actively supported land stewardship efforts in the region.

Schneider died at home in Wilmot Township on September 19, 2011. He was cremated and interred at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener.