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Klaus Kleinfeld
Klaus-Christian Kleinfeld (born 6 November 1957 in Bremen, West Germany) is a German businessman. He worked as the CEO of businesses including Siemens AG, Alcoa Inc, and Arconic.
Kleinfeld joined a marketing consulting firm in 1982, then worked briefly at Ciba-Geigy before joining Siemens AG in 1987 where he rose to become CEO from 2005. Kleinfeld's efforts to modernize the company led to conflict with defenders of Siemens' traditional business culture. However, the company's financial performance flourished. In 2006, a German government investigation uncovered slush funds in secret bank accounts maintained by Siemens in order to win contracts. Investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing by Kleinfeld and no charges were brought against him. In 2009, Kleinfeld, along with other former top Siemens executives, agreed to pay Siemens a sum to settle a related civil matter. In June 2007, Kleinfeld left Siemens, citing uncertainty about his future with the company after divisions among Siemens board members concerning the extension of his contract became public.
In August 2007, Kleinfeld was appointed COO of New York, NY-based Alcoa Inc, and, in May 2008, became Alcoa's CEO. He later also served as chairman and CEO of the Alcoa spin-off Arconic. After unauthorised communications with an Arconic investor, he stepped down as chairman and CEO of Arconic in April 2017. In October 2017, he was named director of Saudi Arabia's Neom initiative, later becoming an advisor of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
Klaus-Christian Kleinfeld was born on 6 November 1957 in Bremen, Germany. He earned a business degree from Georg August University in Göttingen, Germany and a Ph.D. in management from the University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany.
In 1982, Kleinfeld began his career as a marketing consultant. In 1986, he joined Ciba-Geigy, a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, where he was a product manager in the company's pharmaceutical division.
In 1987, Kleinfeld joined Munich-based Siemens AG, a global engineering and technology services firm based in the U.S. and Germany. His first position was in the company's corporate sales and marketing unit, where he worked as a marketing research manager. In 1990, he founded and led Siemens Management Consulting, an internal global partner for Siemens' businesses with a major role in the restructuring of many Siemens' business units around the world.
In January 2001, Kleinfeld was promoted to chief operating officer (COO) of Siemens USA. The recession in the U.S. had adversely impacted profits and Kleinfeld conceived a radical strategy to improve the performance of Siemens' operating companies. He also sought to fix, sell or close operations of recently acquired companies and create new cross-selling opportunities. Unprofitable operations were reduced from 24 to 8, and other cost-cutting measures saved an estimated $100 million. From January 2005 to June 2007, Kleinfeld served as CEO of Siemens USA. In January 2004, Kleinfeld was appointed to Siemens' corporate executive committee. Also in 2004, Kleinfeld was appointed vice president of Siemens AG.
In 2004, Kleinfeld advocated for a customer- and shareholder-focused corporate culture, pressuring German unions to loosen labor rules and extend the German work week from 35 to 40 hours, with no additional pay. Kleinfeld said that German workers "have to adjust and understand what the world is like" to remain competitive. Two years later, sales had increased 16 percent, profits rose 35 percent, and shares rose 40 percent. In January 2005 he was named CEO, succeeding Heinrich von Pierer.
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Klaus Kleinfeld
Klaus-Christian Kleinfeld (born 6 November 1957 in Bremen, West Germany) is a German businessman. He worked as the CEO of businesses including Siemens AG, Alcoa Inc, and Arconic.
Kleinfeld joined a marketing consulting firm in 1982, then worked briefly at Ciba-Geigy before joining Siemens AG in 1987 where he rose to become CEO from 2005. Kleinfeld's efforts to modernize the company led to conflict with defenders of Siemens' traditional business culture. However, the company's financial performance flourished. In 2006, a German government investigation uncovered slush funds in secret bank accounts maintained by Siemens in order to win contracts. Investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing by Kleinfeld and no charges were brought against him. In 2009, Kleinfeld, along with other former top Siemens executives, agreed to pay Siemens a sum to settle a related civil matter. In June 2007, Kleinfeld left Siemens, citing uncertainty about his future with the company after divisions among Siemens board members concerning the extension of his contract became public.
In August 2007, Kleinfeld was appointed COO of New York, NY-based Alcoa Inc, and, in May 2008, became Alcoa's CEO. He later also served as chairman and CEO of the Alcoa spin-off Arconic. After unauthorised communications with an Arconic investor, he stepped down as chairman and CEO of Arconic in April 2017. In October 2017, he was named director of Saudi Arabia's Neom initiative, later becoming an advisor of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
Klaus-Christian Kleinfeld was born on 6 November 1957 in Bremen, Germany. He earned a business degree from Georg August University in Göttingen, Germany and a Ph.D. in management from the University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Germany.
In 1982, Kleinfeld began his career as a marketing consultant. In 1986, he joined Ciba-Geigy, a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, where he was a product manager in the company's pharmaceutical division.
In 1987, Kleinfeld joined Munich-based Siemens AG, a global engineering and technology services firm based in the U.S. and Germany. His first position was in the company's corporate sales and marketing unit, where he worked as a marketing research manager. In 1990, he founded and led Siemens Management Consulting, an internal global partner for Siemens' businesses with a major role in the restructuring of many Siemens' business units around the world.
In January 2001, Kleinfeld was promoted to chief operating officer (COO) of Siemens USA. The recession in the U.S. had adversely impacted profits and Kleinfeld conceived a radical strategy to improve the performance of Siemens' operating companies. He also sought to fix, sell or close operations of recently acquired companies and create new cross-selling opportunities. Unprofitable operations were reduced from 24 to 8, and other cost-cutting measures saved an estimated $100 million. From January 2005 to June 2007, Kleinfeld served as CEO of Siemens USA. In January 2004, Kleinfeld was appointed to Siemens' corporate executive committee. Also in 2004, Kleinfeld was appointed vice president of Siemens AG.
In 2004, Kleinfeld advocated for a customer- and shareholder-focused corporate culture, pressuring German unions to loosen labor rules and extend the German work week from 35 to 40 hours, with no additional pay. Kleinfeld said that German workers "have to adjust and understand what the world is like" to remain competitive. Two years later, sales had increased 16 percent, profits rose 35 percent, and shares rose 40 percent. In January 2005 he was named CEO, succeeding Heinrich von Pierer.