STEAG reorganizes its management team
Essen. The Supervisory Board of STEAG GmbH has appointed new members to three positions in the company’s Board of Management for the coming years. In addition to Dr. Wolfgang Cieslik and Alfred Geißler, the previous CFO Michael Baumgärtner is also leaving the management by most amicable mutual agreement. The 55-year-old intends to take up a new professional challenge.
Guntram Pehlke, the Chairman of STEAG’s Supervisory Board, thanked Michael Baumgärtner on behalf of the company and its boards for the work he has performed on behalf of the company since August 2013, for his commitment and his contribution as the Director of Finance to successfully mastering the major challenges faced by STEAG during the fundamental changes in the energy industry. “STEAG wishes to sincerely thank Michael Baumgärtner for his contributions to the development of the finance department and the future orientation of the company – and those thanks are accompanied by best wishes for his future,” said Pehlke.
New Chief Financial Officer: Dr. Heiko Sanders
Dr. Heiko Sanders will succeed Michael Baumgärtner, who is leaving the STEAG management on April 30, as of May 1. Dr. Sanders, who holds a doctorate in business administration and is also a tax consultant, has many years of experience in the energy industry. Until September 2015, the 51-year-old was Chief Financial Officer of the energy services provider EWE AG in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. In April 2016, he founded two companies: Dr. Sanders Organisationsberatung with a focus on strategy development, mergers & acquisitions, and Dr. Sanders Investments. Heiko Sanders can look back on a total of 15 years as an executive in various entrepreneurial positions.
Internal solution: Dr. Ralf Schiele to succeed Dr. Wolfgang Cieslik
The appointment of Dr. Wolfgang Cieslik, 68, as Director of Market and Generation, expires on September 30, 2020. He will be succeeded on October 1, 2020 by Dr. Ralf Schiele, 53. Dr. Schiele, who holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and is currently the CEO of STEAG Energy Services GmbH (SES), has been working for the STEAG Group in various management positions since July 1999. SES is one of the world’s leading service providers for power generation plants. In his current position, Ralf Schiele played a key role in an acquisition in the renewables sector that was groundbreaking for STEAG: the purchase of STEAG Solar Energy Solutions (SENS) GmbH. SENS is an internationally successful energy service provider in the growth market of photovoltaics.
New Chief Human Resources Officer: Dr. Andreas Reichel
Alfred Geißler, 63, will be succeeded as CHRO and Industrial Relations Director on August 1, 2020 by Dr. Andreas Reichel, 59, who has a doctorate in law and is a member of the Board of Management of E.DIS AG in Fürstenwalde, Brandenburg, responsible for Human Resources and Industrial Relations. At the same time, he is acting Industrial Relations Director at E.ON Germany. Andreas Reichel has held management positions in various groups in the energy industry since 1995. Alfred Geißler will continue to provide support to his successor until he leaves on September 28, 2020.
Pehlke: STEAG well positioned for future tasks
“With the rapid appointment of Dr. Heiko Sanders and the early succession planning for Dr. Wolfgang Cieslik and Alfred Geißler, we have ensured that the STEAG management team is highly qualified and that a smooth transition is possible in a challenging year for the company,” emphasizes Supervisory Board Chairman Guntram Pehlke. “I am looking forward to working with my new management colleagues,” adds Joachim Rumstadt, Chairman of the Board of Management. “I am convinced that, together with our Future Project team, we will successfully implement the repositioning of STEAG which has been made necessary by the phasing out of coal.
