Following the successful expansion of the compliance system at Siemens, the Chief Compliance Officer, Andreas Pohlmann, is moving to Ferrostaal AG, where he will become a member of the Management Board. “Andreas Pohlmann has performed a great service for our company. We wish him every success in his new duties at Ferrostaal. Regardless of personnel changes, compliance remains the highest priority at Siemens,” said General Counsel Peter Y. Solmssen, member of the Managing Board responsible for Corporate Legal and Compliance. Solmssen will serve as acting Chief Compliance Officer until a successor is picked.
Siemens’ innovative strength continues unabated: The company currently owns over 56,000 patents — 1,000 more than in fiscal year 2008. Siemens applied for around 4,200 patents in fiscal year 2009, the result of approximately 7,700 inventions reported worldwide by the company’s 32,500 researchers and developers — which is equivalent of 35 inventions per day of work. At a ceremony in Munich on November 23, Siemens CEO Peter Löscher honored 13 of the company’s most outstanding inventors. The award-winning research ranges from an infrared camera system that makes it possible to look into the white-hot interiors of gas turbines, to environmentally friendly “green ship” technology and a new 3D X-ray diagnostic system for detecting cancer. Altogether the 13 inventors hold about 1,000 individual patents.
Many thousands of people who arrive in Venice every day by car, bus or cruise ship have been looking forward to this day: A passenger transport system known as the Cable Liner which was custom-built for Venice has now gone into operation. With a capacity of 200 people per car, the cable-operated tram can very comfortably transport 3,000 passengers an hour in each direction. Constructed by Doppelmayr and Siemens, the people mover glides above Venice – energy-efficient, emission-free and fully automated, moving on noiseless rubber tires at a speed of about 30km/h. Supported by steel girders with an average height of five meters, the 870-meter Cable Liner link covers the 870 meters between the island of Tronchetto – with its port and parking garage – and Piazzale Roma – the point of departure for the historic center of Venice – in about three minutes.
In fiscal 2010, Siemens will again provide 250 additional training positions for disadvantaged young people throughout Germany. For the third year in a row, the company will invest €30 million in training positions. “Our experience with the program has been very positive. That’s why we’ve decided to keep supporting disadvantaged young people – especially in light of the current economic situation. Well-qualified young people are our most important asset for the future,” said Siemens’ Chief Human Resources Officer Siegfried Russwurm. The aim of the Siemens program is to provide opportunities to young people – many with migration backgrounds – who have not yet obtained training positions due to low academic performance or weak basic skills.
Siemens will be introducing new key components for the field of electromobility at the International Motor Show to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on March 4-14, 2010. In the Ruf Automobile GmbH stand, Siemens will exhibit an integrated recharging system complete with the requisite software as well as a so-called double-motor concept for a new version of the electric roadster known as the eRuf Greenster. Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Energy Sector at Siemens AG, explains: “We see great potential for electromobility – also from the point of view of power utilities – since electric vehicles are the ideal temporary storage units for surplus electricity.” Siemens expects more than a million electric vehicles to be on the world’s roads in the foreseeable future.
Siemens AG is on track to make another two important personnel decisions. Current President and CEO of Siemens China, Richard Hausmann, 49, will assume management of the forward-looking Siemens project that deals with all aspects of Smart Grid applications. The project involves developing new products, solutions and services for intelligent power grids, including, for example, how they will interact in the future with electrically powered vehicles. “Richard Hausmann was very successful in expanding business in China and more than doubled our revenue there in just five years. His experience in this highly dynamic market makes him the ideal candidate to develop new business models for Siemens in one of the most important future markets in the new energy age,” said Siemens Energy CEO Wolfgang Dehen, to whom Richard Hausmann will directly report. His successor as President and CEO in China will be Mei Wei Cheng, 60, who was previously Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor in China. “We intend to further expand the added value in our most important growth markets and intensify our excellent contacts with Chinese customers. Mei Wei Cheng has decades of experience and a corresponding network of contacts to successfully move us forward in a highly competitive environment,” continued Dehen, who is also the Member of the Siemens Managing Board responsible for the Asia Region.
Siemens showed pioneering achievements in electromobility at an exceptional event held at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. The company presented for the first time an exact replica of the historic “Electric Victoria” – an electric car that was used in Berlin as an elegant hotel taxi beginning in 1905. The event also highlighted modern electric cars, an electric motorcycle, charging stations and other exhibits offering a look at the present and future of electromobility. Siemens demonstrated the interrelationship among renewable energies, smart grids and electric cars as temporary power storage units. “Siemens is holding this event to support efforts by the federal government to showcase Germany as the leading market for electromobility at the upcoming electromobility summit on May 3. Siemens is the technology partner for developing cars and infrastructure into a sustainable system for electromobility,” explained Wolfgang Dehen, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of the Energy Sector. At the event, many visitors were able to enjoy test drives in the historic and modern electric cars.
The regular Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Siemens AG has approved the proposed settlements between the company and nine former members of Siemens’ Managing and Supervisory Boards. The shareholders also endorsed an agreement whereby the provider of the company’s directors and officers insurance policy will cover damages of up to €100 million. In addition, the shareholders approved the current system of Managing Board compensation and ratified the acts of the Managing and Supervisory Boards for fiscal 2009. The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting also confirmed the dividend of €1.60 per share proposed by the Managing and Supervisory Boards. The proposals on these agenda items were approved by large majorities at the meeting today in Munich’s Olympiahalle.
Siemens officially opened the new headquarters of its Austrian subsidiary at a gala event in Vienna on Friday. The company has invested around €150 million in the new home for its 6,000 local employees. The new buildings feature an extremely ecofriendly design coupled with advanced green building technology. “Siemens City highlights our strong commitment to the Vienna location and to Austria,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher.
Siemens is strengthening its compliance organization by focusing on operations-related tasks. As the new Chief Compliance Officer, Josef Winter, who is currently head of Siemens’ activities in Germany, will manage operations-related, sales-related topics. In the newly created position of Chief Counsel Compliance, Klaus Moosmayer, the current Compliance Operating Officer, will be responsible for all legal aspects of compliance. Starting on July 1, 2010, both men will report directly to Siemens Managing Board member Peter Y. Solmssen. “The new setup will enable us not only to maintain our high compliance standards but also to better leverage them in order to increase the competitiveness of our business operations,” said Solmssen. Theo Waigel, the Monitor for Siemens appointed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, expressly endorsed the reorganization.