The CEO of leading wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa, Jochen Eickholt, will stand down from his position amidst ongoing restructuring efforts. The reins will be handed over to its parent company Siemens Energy’s head of global functions, Vinod Philip, who currently oversees various functions such as IT, purchasing, innovation, logistics and project management.
Eickholt will step down on 31 July and leave the company on 30 September.
The leadership transition marks a pivotal moment for the company, which has grappled with turbine quality issues and sustained losses under Eickholt's tenure, although Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said in a press statement that “the causes of the quality problems did not fall under his tenure”.
Bruch said that Eickholt’s departure was part of the company’s multi-year restructuring plan as “the time has now come for a generational change at Siemens Gamesa”.
The restructuring plan entails a strategic shift towards onshore wind operations in stable regulatory environments, particularly in Europe and the US. This focus aims to optimise profitability and align with market demands.
Although the plan included unspecified job and capacity cuts, Siemens Energy, in the press statement, reaffirmed its commitment to both onshore and offshore wind, allaying concerns of potential divestment or closure of wind business segments.
The leadership change and restructuring measures have resonated positively with investors, with Siemens Energy shares surging by 13% following the announcement. Siemens Energy now anticipates a more favourable profit margin for the year, adjusting its 2024 projections for sales, operating profit and free cash flow to reflect revenue growth of 10–12% during the year.
Manufacturing flaws led to significant financial setbacks for Siemens Gamesa in 2023, resulting in a loss of €4.6bn ($4.94bn) for the fiscal year. At the time, Burch said: “The strong performance of our other business areas gives me confidence in our company’s ability to put businesses back on a strong footing.”
