It was the end of an era for Siemens in the UK this week as Sir Jurgen Gehrels officially stepped down after 12 years as chief executive of Siemens Plc, handing over to Yorkshireman Alan Wood, who becomes the first British chief executive in Siemens’ history. Joining him on the board, but in a non-executive role, are Sir Bob Reid (chairman of Sears Plc) and George Mallinckrodt (President of Schroders Plc). But while Mr Gehrels was winding down at his farewell dinner, Heinrich von Pierer, chief executive of Siemens AG had no intention of taking the evening off. Positioned squarely next to British Telecom’s CEO Sir Peter Bonfield over dinner, von Pierer clearly had plenty to talk about. Perhaps Siemens’ current pitch to sell BT 300m pounds worth of switching infrastructure was on the menu?
