Bienert emerges as favourite to succeed Thomas as Siemens CFO
In early August Veronika Bienert was appointed member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, making her the favourite to succeed Ralf Thomas as CFO.
Thomas will relinquish his position at the end of 2026. The company announcement does not make any connection between Bienert's appointment and Thomas' previously announced departure as he approaches retirement age. However, it can be assumed that the 51 year old Bienert will gain additional experience for a future potential role as CFO.
Siemens has expanded its Managing Board for the latest set of changes. Chief Strategy Officer Peter Körte (48) will be appointed to the Managing Board as of 1 October. As Chief Technology and Chief Strategy Officer, he will be responsible for Siemens Xcelerator and Siemens Advanta. From October the Management Board will comprise seven executives instead of five.
Just like the 63 year old Thomas, Bienert has had a flawless and rapid rise at Siemens. She even completed an apprenticeship in automotive engineering at Siemens in 1993, and graduated as an industrial manager. Her first job was at Siemens Financial Services (SFS), where she spent ten years fulfilling various roles in Germany and abroad. Since October 2021 she has headed the Siemens company as CEO, putting her at the helm of around 2,600 employees.
„Impressive experience“
The press release on her appointment to the Managing Board emphasises that SFS generates a solid profit contribution in the range of 15 to 20% return on equity over the cycle. In an interview with Börsen-Zeitung a year ago, Bienert explained that SFS would support Siemens' technology solutions with sales financing, but would also act with foresight and develop new business opportunities for the industrial divisions.
She formulated three strategic goals: Firstly, she wanted to give Siemens accelerated access to additional focus markets. Secondly, to jointly develop new business models and, thirdly, to support the high demand from customers in the industrial business for sustainable solutions.
Bienert has remained within the finance department for almost her entire career. Although she moved to the strategy department at group headquarters in 2005, she took over the CFO position for the Russia/Central Asia cluster in 2008. Four years later, she was promoted to CFO of Siemens Germany before moving to the CFO position of the Industrial Automation Division in the then Industry Sector in 2013 – Thomas had been appointed Siemens CFO at the time, having previously been Industry CFO.
She rejoined Siemens Financial Services in 2016 via the CFO position at the Mainline Transport unit in the Mobility Division (2014), at that time still as CFO. CEO Roland Busch emphasises in the press release that the two newly appointed board members bring impressive experience and expertise in finance, strategy and technology.
As previously announced, the Supervisory Board is also retaining Executive Board member Cedrik Neike (51), who heads the core Digital Industries division, for longer. His contract will be extended by five years with effect from 1 June next year, it was announced. The statement formulates the work assignment: With the extension, the Supervisory Board is reaffirming the trust placed in him to successfully continue the transformation of the industrial automation and software business and to exploit the benefits of further development into a software-as-a-service provider.
In Körte's case, it is noted that he was in charge of the open digital business platform Siemens Xcelerator from its conception to its launch in June 2022: „Siemens Xcelerator is on a good path and is growing by more than 10% per year.“ Körte has held numerous management positions at Siemens and Siemens Healthineers, including eight years in the USA.
Siemens is also aiming for consistency at the top of the Supervisory Board. The proposal is that Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe should extend his mandate by two years in February 2025. „I am very grateful to my colleagues on the Supervisory Board for the trust they have placed in me by proposing the extension of my contract as Chairman of the Supervisory Board from next February,“ Snabe says is in the press release.
