Jacques Schnee

Jacques Schnee (né Gelè) is an antagonist and the President of the Schnee Dust Company (SDC), one of the largest Dust mining company in Remnant. He is the father of Weiss, Winter, and Whitley Schnee.

In RWBY, he is first mentioned in the episode "The Stray" and makes a brief non-speaking appearance in "End of the Beginning". He also appears briefly in the Manga. His first speaking appearance is in "Remembrance".

Appearance
Jacques has gray-white hair and a pale complexion. He has a large gray mustache, and his eyes are a cold blue color.

He is seen wearing a pure white double-breasted jacket with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket, underneath which he wears a blue shirt and vest and a gray-white tie, printed with the same emblem on his shoes and above his study. He has a silver-colored ring on his right hand.

On the back wall behind his desk is a portrait from when he was younger, depicting him with black hair and a thinner mustache.

Personality
Jacques is known to have a cold and controlling personality. Weiss states that it was her father's leadership of the company that saw its reputation sullied by unethical practices, demonstrating his lack of morals. He's on poor terms with both of his daughters and is heavily implied to be in an unhappy marriage. When Weiss refuses to answer his calls, he cuts her off from the family fortune in order to force her to talk to him. A similar situation is said to have occurred between him and Winter upon her enlistment to the military. Jacques is shown to be egotistical, joking with peers that he's repeatedly the good guy when it comes to the Faunus situation, when in reality he's apathetic.

During the World of Remnant episode "Schnee Dust Company", Qrow states that Jacques doesn't care about people, only winning, causing the SDC to lose its former glory. During his conversation with General Ironwood, he attempted to convince the General that the latter's newest idea would hurt the kingdom. However James clearly saw through this. Jacques himself accidentally revealed his altruism was only a front when bringing up the expenses the Schnee Dust Company had sustained due to the recent Dust embargo.

Despite Jacques' poor relationship with his daughters, the fact that he personally fetched Weiss after the Battle of Beacon indicates some sense of worry for her safety. However, his actions during "Remembrance" show him to be using her for the sake of company propaganda. His controlling nature is made clear when he ensures her obedience by implying consequences if she does not do as he asks. This extends to retaliatory punishment when she challenges him in "Punished".

Jacques fits the description of an extreme authoritarian to a T, with his anger and wrath being incurred primarily by any sort of defiance to his will, often striking out either verbally or physically at anyone unlucky or brave enough to hold their ground against him. However, he is tactful enough when dealing with those who wield power above his own to be less ferocious and more subtle, such as when holding discussions with James Ironwood, who is arguably his superior due to the General's military and political power in Atlas, forcing Jacques to tread lightly around the hardened veteran. Jacques, while extremely forceful in his own domain, is cunning enough to stay his hand when at a disadvantage until he can assert control over the situation and gain dominance before returning to his more demanding and aggressive self.

Powers and Abilities
In addition to Jacques' considerable personal wealth, as the President of the SDC, he is a highly influential individual in Remnant.

Trivia
For information on his character allusion and other choices for the character made by the creators, see Jacques Schnee/Behind the Scenes.
 * His first name is the French equivalent of the name James, which originates from Jacob. This name means "someone who grasps at the heels" or "supplanter", which fits him well given his backstory.
 * His pre-marriage surname, Gelè, means 'frost' or 'frozen' in French.
 * Like the rest of his family, his adopted surname means "snow" in German.
 * Schnee Father's Day Ad.jpg picture of Weiss and her father from "End of the Beginning" was used to promote the Father's Day sales at the Rooster Teeth Store on June 19th, 2016.
 * Weiss' father was originally intended to appear in the Volume 1 Opening. He can be seen as a mysterious figure in the original storyboards featured as extras on the DVD release of Volume 1.