BERLIN — Corruption scandals at Siemens, the German industrial giant, have claimed one of the nation’s most prominent industrialists. The company said that its chairman, Heinrich von Pierer, would resign next week.
In a statement issued late Thursday, von Pierer said that he was leaving out of a duty to Siemens and its more than 400,000 employees, not because of any involvement in the accusations of bribery that have roiled the company.
Von Pierer’s departure is not a total surprise. He had been under mounting pressure to leave, even from other members of the company’s supervisory board.
But his resignation is sure to reverberate through German corporate circles, where he has long been a distinguished figure.
Von Pierer’s position on the board eroded in recent weeks because he had been chief executive during the period when the company is accused of bribes and other corporate corruption.
Prosecutors in Munich are investigating reports that more than $500 million in bribes were paid to foreign officials over the last seven years by the communications unit of Siemens to win contracts.
Current and former executives are also being investigated in two other bribery cases – one involving an Italian energy company, the other a German labor leader who represented Siemens workers.
The accusations are among the most far-reaching in corporate history in Germany, and they have all but obscured the robust financial performance of the company, which is 160 years old.
In the statement, released after the newspaper Bild reported that his resignation was imminent, von Pierer, 66, said: “Siemens has run into a difficult situation due to the in-part apparent and in-part alleged misconduct of a number of managers and employees.
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“I assume that electing a new chairman of the supervisory board will also make a contribution toward taking our company out of the headlines and bringing it back into calmer waters.”
Given the breadth of the accusations facing Siemens, von Pierer’s departure is unlikely to settle the questions surrounding its senior management.
Last month, prosecutors arrested a top executive, Johannes Feldmayer, on suspicion that he was involved in bribing the head of a group that represents Siemens employees.
It is unclear, analysts who follow the company say, how the shake-up will affect the current chief executive, Klaus Kleinfeld. He has not been implicated in any corruption, and he has responded to the accusations by hiring a law firm and anti-corruption specialists to advise management.
By leaving, an official with ties to the company said, von Pierer may give Kleinfeld a freer hand to clean up Siemens, without fear of crossing his former boss.
On the other hand, Kleinfeld was a protege of von Pierer’s, anointed by him as his successor when he was only 46.
In a statement, Kleinfeld said: “I have always associated the greatest honesty and exemplary behavior with Heinrich von Pierer. That was always the case, and it is particularly so in these difficult times.”
A lawyer from northern Bavaria, von Pierer spent his entire business career at Siemens, becoming chief executive in 1992. Under his leadership, Siemens expanded aggressively around the world in industries like medical devices and power-generating equipment.
When he relinquished the top job to Kleinfeld in January 2005, von Pierer was regarded as a sort of dean among German executives. He advised the former chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, on economic policy, and now advises Chancellor Angela Merkel.
As is the custom at many German companies – and a cause of concern for some corporate watchdogs – von Pierer ascended to the chairmanship of Siemens, presiding over a supervisory board composed equally of shareholder representatives and representatives of employees.
He also sits on the boards of other leading German companies, including Deutsche Bank and Volkswagen.
