The Board of Directors (Supervisory Board) of Siemens Gamesa today called for an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to vote on delisting the company’s shares in response to a takeover bid launched by Siemens Energy. The meeting will be held on January 25, 2023, in Bilbao.
During the acceptance period that ended on December 13, 2022, the cash tender offer was accepted by 77.88% of Siemens Gamesa’s minority shareholders.
The agenda for the Extraordinary General Meeting will include amending the by-laws of the company for the purpose of adapting them to the regulations for non-listed companies. In addition, shareholders will vote to reduce the number of members on the Board of Directors from 10 to three with the aim of simplifying the current governance structure and streamlining decision-making. Chairman Christian Bruch and CEO Jochen Eickholt will remain on the new board along with Anton Steiger who will serve as a non-executive proprietary director.
During a Board of Directors meeting held today, board members Francisco Belil, André Clark, Gloria Hernández, Harald von Heynitz, Maria Ferraro, Rudolf Krämmer and Mariel von Schumann submitted their resignations. The resignations will take effect once the company is delisted.
Richard Luijendijk appointed new CEO for onshore business
The Board of Directors also approved today the appointment of Richard Luijendijk as CEO for the onshore business effective January 1, 2023.
Richard Luijendijk has been the Head of Global Projects and the CEO of the Asia Pacific region for the onshore business for more than a year. In October 2022, he also began to assist global Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt in the daily management of the global onshore business.
“The Executive Committee team and I are delighted to welcome Richard as a permanent member of the leadership team as the new CEO for the onshore business,” Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt said. “With his far-reaching expertise in the wind industry, the onshore business and Team Siemens Gamesa, he is the right candidate to successfully execute our turnaround and return the onshore business to profitability. The onshore business is a key part of Siemens Gamesa, and we need to put it back on the track to sustainable growth as soon as possible.”
Born in Gouda, the Netherlands, Richard Luijendijk holds a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the Technical University in Delft, the Netherlands. His professional career has been tied to Siemens since 2000. He joined Siemens Gamesa and the wind industry in 2015. Since then, he has held senior positions in sales and projects in the three businesses of the company worldwide. He also led the LEAP strategy program from 2020 to 2021 before joining the onshore business.
As a member of the Executive Committee, Richard Luijendijk will report directly to Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt. He will continue to work out of the company’s headquarters in Bilbao.
“I am honored to be appointed CEO of the onshore business,” Richard Luijendijk said. “I truly believe the wind industry is the place to be to drive the energy transition. My first priority will be focusing on the execution of the Mistral strategy program, together with the onshore leadership team, in order to make onshore a profitable and strong business once again. There is no time to lose. We need to keep working as one team – in close collaboration with the other businesses and functions – to make it happen.”
