|
5 shortlisted for new Siemens boss
5 shortlisted for new Siemens boss
Sunday April 29, 2007
Five captains of German industry have been shortlisted to replace the chief executive of corruption-tainted engineering giant Siemens, Klaus Kleinfeld, the weekly Focus said Saturday.
In an extract from a report to appear in its next edition on Monday, Focus said the favourite was the head of the board of Linde, the world leader in industrial gases, Wolfgang Reitzle.
Reitzle, who has also been tipped by other German media since Kleinfeld announced his departure on Wednesday, is preferred by the chairman of the Siemens supervisory board, Gerhard Cromme, who drew up the shortlist, Focus said.
Kleinfeld, 49, said he would leave his post by September to allow Siemens to focus on weathering the far-reaching corruption scandal, even though he has not personally been implicated.
The German business daily Handelsblatt said on Thursday that he would be replaced by Cromme, one-time head of steel and heavy industry giant ThyssenKrupp.
Cromme has a reputation as a strong advocate of 'clean' corporate governance and is believed to have played a leading role in forcing Kleinfeld out in a move that was sharply criticised by shareholders' groups.
Heinrich von Pierer, Siemens' former chief executive, also formally stepped down Wednesday as head of the supervisory board.
Siemens is suspected of trying to bribe key union officials to secure industrial peace, and set up a massive slush-fund to obtain foreign contracts.
Siemens is Germany's biggest employer and has more than 450,000 workers worldwide. It builds trains, power plants and manufactures medical and telecommunications equipment.
AFP
|
