ABB names CEO

The board of ABB, a provider of power and automation technologies based in Zurich, has appointed Ulrich Spiesshofer, the head of its Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division since 2009, as CEO. He will succeed Joe Hogan in this role in a transition on Sept. 15. Hogan will continue with ABB for some months as senior adviser to the board.

Spiesshofer joined the company's executive committee in 2005 with responsibility for corporate development, leading strategy development and implementation across the power and automation businesses. Before that he spent three years at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and 11 years at A.T. Kearney management consultants. He has a master's degree in business administration and engineering and a PhD in economics, both from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.