Siemens CEO Kaeser to Leave by Next Year -- Update
March 19 2020 - 5:35PM
Dow Jones News
By Ruth Bender
BERLIN -- German industrial engineering company Siemens AG on
Thursday said Chief Executive Joe Kaeser would be replaced by
current Deputy CEO Roland Busch by early next year at the latest,
cementing the company's shift from a conglomerate into a business
more focused on digital transformation.
Mr. Busch, a technician who was put on fast track to succeed Mr.
Kaeser last fall, is to take over as CEO at the latest after the
group's next ordinary shareholders meeting in February 2021,
Siemens said in a statement after the company's supervisory board
made the decision on Thursday.
The transition will be gradual, with Mr. Busch taking on more
responsibilities until the official succession. Mr. Kaeser,
meanwhile, will be proposed to become chairman of a new company --
Siemens Energy -- which Siemens is set to spin off later this year,
the company said.
Mr. Kaeser's departure marks a milestone for Siemens and brings
certainty after months of speculation about whether the manager
might extend his term.
The outgoing CEO sought to reinvent the company from an
industrial conglomerate to a much smaller business that, in the
future, will become increasingly focused on connecting factories
and urban infrastructure to the internet.
Mr. Kaeser recently celebrated his 40th anniversary at Siemens.
He is considered one of the most outspoken of German CEOs and has
at times provoked controversy with his tweets on such issues as
climate change or politics.
With the spin-off of Siemens Energy -- which will combine the
group's struggling power and gas unit and its renewable energy
business -- Siemens is entering a new era. Under Mr. Kaeser,
Siemens has spun off its medical technology business, Siemens
Healthineers, and wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa.
Mr. Busch was seen as a favorite to succeed Mr. Kaeser since
last September, when he was promoted to the role of deputy CEO,
giving him the chance to prove himself as a contender to succeed
Mr. Kaeser, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Busch brings strong technical credentials to the position,
having studied physics and served previously as chief technology
officer.
Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe said Mr. Busch, 55 years old, had a
"deep understanding of all the technologies that have made Siemens
successful in the past and will be crucial for its future."
Starting immediately, Mr. Busch will be charged with planning
and implementing Siemens's budget for its 2021 fiscal year and take
on responsibility for integrating and managing the new Siemens from
April.
In a more surprising move, Siemens said Christian Bruch, a top
executive at Linde PLC, was to become CEO of Siemens Energy from
May. Michael Sen and Klaus Patzak, Siemens Energy's designated CEO
and CFO, respectively, are leaving the company by mutual agreement.
Siemens aims for a public listing of Siemens Energy in
September.
Write to Ruth Bender at Ruth.Bender@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2020 17:20 ET (21:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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