Joe Kaeser
Joe Kaeser | |
|---|---|
| Born | Josef Käser June 23, 1957 Arnbruck, West Germany |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | CEO of Siemens AG (2013–2021) |
Joe Kaeser (originally named Josef Käser; born June 23, 1957) is a German executive who led Siemens AG as CEO from 2013 until 2021.
Early life
Born on June 23, 1957, in Arnbruck, located in the Bavarian Forest region of West Germany, Kaeser pursued studies in business administration at the Regensburg University of Applied Sciences. He began his career with Siemens in 1980.
Siemens tenure
Throughout his time at Siemens, Kaeser occupied multiple leadership positions. Between 1987 and 1988, he managed operations at Siemens Components in Malacca, Malaysia. In 1990, he advanced to the role of vice president of business administration within the Opto Semiconductors Division. By 1994, he had become executive vice president and chief financial officer and subsequently CEO of Siemens Components in Cupertino, California, as well as Siemens Microelectronics based in nearby San Jose.
In 1999, Kaeser transitioned to Corporate Finance, where he was responsible for developing a company-wide performance control system and played a key role in Siemens’ listing on the New York Stock Exchange along with the conversion to US GAAP accounting standards globally.
From April 2001 until September 2004, he was part of the group executive committee at IC Mobile as chief financial officer, focusing on financial restructuring related to customer financing and working capital optimization.
Serving as chief strategy officer later on, Kaeser assisted CEO Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld with implementing the Fit4More transformation initiative and aligning Siemens’ corporate strategy with emerging global trends.
Leadership as Siemens CEO (2013–2021)
Kaeser took over the CEO position at Siemens AG in July 2013, succeeding Peter Löscher.
During his tenure, he accompanied Chancellor Angela Merkel on nine international state visits to critical markets including China (2014, 2016, 2018), India (2015), as well as several countries in 2017 such as Egypt, Tunisia, Argentina, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Additionally, he traveled alongside Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel to the United States and Mexico in 2017.
At the April 2016 Hannover Messe, Kaeser was among a select group of fifteen German CEOs invited to a private dinner with then-US President Barack Obama. He also joined Chancellor Merkel’s delegation for her initial meeting with President Donald Trump in March 2017 and participated in a dinner with Trump and European CEOs during the 2018 World Economic Forum held in Davos.
In January 2020, under Kaeser's leadership, Siemens’ board extended an invitation to an environmental activist to join its board amid key decisions involving mining corporation Adani, highlighting an increased emphasis on sustainability within corporate governance.
Visit to Russia amid Crimea annexation in 2014
In April 2014, Kaeser met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reaffirming Siemens’ commitment to its operations in Russia despite widespread international criticism over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This decision attracted disapproval from Western figures including Chancellor Merkel; however, notable German personalities such as former chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Gehard Schroeder voiced more understanding stances toward Russia during that period.
Later disclosures by former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski revealed that ex-World Bank President Robert Zoellick exerted pressure on Kaeser regarding this visit, cautioning that Siemens’ broader US business interests might be at risk if engagement with Russia continued.
Later career
In 2023, Kaeser was named Senior Advisor by EIG Global Energy Partners.
Corporate boards
- Since 2021, Kaeser has served on the board of directors at Linde plc.
- He has held the position of Chair of the supervisory board at Daimler Truck starting in 2021.
- Beginning in 2020, he has been the Chair of the supervisory board for Siemens Energy AG.
- He is a member of the supervisory board at Allianz Deutschland AG.
- Kaeser has been part of the International Council at JPMorgan Chase since 2015.
- From 2010 to 2022, he was a member of the board of directors at NXP Semiconductors.
- Between 2014 and 2021, he served on the supervisory board of Daimler AG.
Non-profit organizations
- Since 2023, Kaeser has chaired the Advisory Council of the Munich Security Conference.
- He has been Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA) since 2019.
- From 2017 to 2019, he was a member of the Presidium for the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
- He is a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT).
- Kaeser serves on the board of trustees for Baden-Badener Unternehmer-Gespräche (BBUG).
- He is also on the board of trustees for Deutscher Zukunftspreis.
- He holds a trustee position at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT).
- Kaeser participates on the Business and Industry Advisory Board at the Goethe Institute.
- He is a member of the board of trustees for the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
- Kaeser belongs to the European Group within the Trilateral Commission.
- He serves on the Board of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
- Additionally, he is a trustee at the World Economic Forum.
Honours
- Awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Entrepreneurial Merit (Industrial Class) by Portugal on 13 May 2015.
- Recipient of the Prize for Understanding and Tolerance from the Jewish Museum Berlin in 2017.
External links
- Shaping the Future. The Siemens Entrepreneurs 1847–2018. Edited by Siemens Historical Institute, Hamburg, 2018, .
- List of Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of Siemens AG
- Intellectual contributor and speaker at the 2016 Future of Leadership Initiative: Meaning@Work