MUNICH, Germany—Siemens AG said its chief financial officer, Heinz-Joachim Nueburger, has resigned from his position for personal reasons and plans to step down in May, a year before his contract expires. His replacement, Joe Kaeser, is a company veteran and has been Siemens’ chief strategy officer since 2004. Siemens said Nueburger’s contract was not extended “at his own request,” and noted that he would continue to work with Siemens as a financial advisor, focusing on the company’s pension plans.
The company also announced that Hermann Requardt will succeed Claus Weyrich as chief technology officer; and that Eduardo Montes Perez will take over as group president of Siemens’ Communications Group, succeeding Thomas Ganswindt, who had assumed the role on an interim basis and will now focus on his duties as a member of the Corporate Executive Committee.
The moves come as Klaus Kleinfeld, Siemens’ yearling chief executive officer, works to meet self-imposed goals of increase profit-margins by April 2007 while reorganizing communications and information-technology divisions. Though the company stated that the personnel changes were voluntary, many believe that Nueburger was seen as a Kleinfeld rival who had his own power base even after being passed over for the CEO position.
The company’s stock was down $1.20, trading at $90.45 per share, after the news.
