Siemens Lighting Unit Loses Executive as Revival of IPO Looms

Siemens AG (SIE)’s Osram lighting unit lost its chief operating officer, depriving the subsidiary of its most experienced executive as Siemens works to revive plans for an initial public offering of the business.

Martin Goetzeler will leave his position as Osram’s chief operating officer at the end of the month, the Munich-based company said today. Goetzeler had taken the position last year, after being relegated from the top job at Osram, a post that was handed to Wolfgang Dehen in preparation for an IPO.

“We will discuss and reach a decision on the complete line-up of the executive board of Osram AG (1184Q) in the near future,” Osram supervisory board Chairman Siegfried Russwurm said in a statement. Until then, his duties will be shared by the two remaining members of the panel, including Dehen, he said.

Siemens shelved the stock listing of the world’s second- largest maker of lighting products in September amid a slump in global stock markets. The company has since eliminated more than 1,000 jobs at the subsidiary as the industry switches from traditional bulbs to more advanced lighting.

Goetzeler is a 30-year veteran at Munich-based Siemens, and held positions in corporate finance before moving to Osram, where he worked in Italy, the U.K. and the U.S. Goetzeler took over as head of the subsidiary in 2005, before switching to the chief operating officer position in the middle of last year. Royal Philips Electronics NV is the world’s largest maker of lighting products.

To contact the reporter on this story: Benedikt Kammel in Berlin at bkammel@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net