Word: kleinfeld
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...unprecedented move, the supervisory board of German engineering giant Siemens AG on Tuesday launched plans to sue 11 former management board executives, including former CEOs Heinrich von Pierer and Klaus Kleinfeld, over alleged supervisory failings linked to a $2 billion bribes-for-business scandal...
...board is chaired by Gerhard Cromme, former CEO of German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp, and includes powerful business titans such as Josef Ackermann, the CEO of Deutsche Bank, and Michael Dieckmann, CEO of financial services giant Allianz AG. They were no doubt aware that a decision to go after previous execs Kleinfeld and particularly von Pierer - a former advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel dubbed "Mr. Industry" by German media - would reverberate far beyond the walls of Siemens' headquarters in Munich...
...criminal charges have been filed in connection with the slush-fund scandal against either von Pierer, whose tenure as CEO stretched from 1992 to 2005, or Kleinfeld, who became CEO in 2005 and resigned under pressure in April 2007 as the bribery investigation widened. Both men maintain their innocence. Nevertheless, the supervisory board is seeking compensation for damages to the company, which it claims resulted as a failure of the executives to carry out their oversight responsibilities...
...Winfried Seibert, von Pierer's lawyer, said his client "takes note of the supervisory board's decision with shock and regret and will defend himself" against the allegations. Kleinfeld, who became CEO of U.S. metals group Alcoa Inc. in October 2007, issued a statement suggesting that the whole affair will blow over. "I have great faith in the German judicial system, and that is why I am not concerned about this development," he said in a statement released by Pittsburgh-based Alcoa...
...good thing is that we have absolutely the right strategy. It was developed under the leadership of Klaus Kleinfeld and his team. So I didn't have to change strategy at all. There's a strategic program called "Fit for 2010," which Klaus announced three or four weeks before he left. It's quite unusual that the outgoing CEO is announcing a program for the incoming one, but it's absolutely the right thing to do for the company...