Löscher will take office on July 1, succeeding Klaus Kleinfeld who earlier had announced to step down. To a surprise for many observers, Löscher (49) has no engineering background but worked in the pharmaceutical and medical industry for the biggest part of his professional career. Presently, Löscher is president of the Global Human Health Division at U.S-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Life sciences, however, is also one of Siemens' major growth segments.

The appointment of a company and industry outsider seems to be a clear signal for a fresh start. According to media reports here, the supervisory board was determined to appoint an entirely 'clean' candidate who in no case could be related to the scandals after former long-time president and chairman of the board Heinrich von Pierer was forced to step down over corruption allegations, in the wake of his depart, also CEO Klaus Kleinfeld had announced his retreat.

Supervisory board chairman Gerhard Cromme announced the Kleinfeld successor as a person with "upright character, global background, outstanding international reputation and wide-ranging experience." Cromme expressed his belief that "Löscher has what it takes to steer Siemens through its current difficulties and into a better future."

When Lösch, native Austrian and presently residing in the USA, moves back to Europe, he will have to face a daunting task. With 475.000 employees in 190 countries and sales of €87 billion (about $117 billion), Siemens is Europe's largest engineering company. The conglomerate's product range spans light bulbs as well as power plants and industry automation installations as well as magnetic resonance tomographs and automotive electronic equipment. As if managing such diversity would not be enough, Lösch will have to eradicate the remainders of a culture of bribe and embezzlement that ultimately had brought the company into the most serious trouble in its history.