Transforming an Industrial Giant: Heinrich von Pierer

In his 12 years at the helm of Siemens, CEO Heinrich von Pierer designed and directed a major transformation. Taking this German icon from a technically superb but slow-moving industrial giant to a disciplined yet nimble multinational has posed enormous challenges. Since 1992, Siemens has revamped its portfolio of businesses, expanded its reach into 192 countries, and created a more local-market-driven culture, gaining recognition as one of the best-managed and most competitive companies in the world. In this edited interview with HBR editor Thomas A. Stewart and consulting editor Louise O'Brien, von Pierer describes the requirements for transformation and culture change and how he broke down historical barriers at Siemens. He shares his insights about portfolio restructuring, his lessons from competing with GE, and the pros and cons of being based in Europe vs. America. He reflects on the true start of globalization after the fall of the Berlin wall and on how dramatically the company needed to change to counter the resulting pricing pressures across all of its businesses. He talks, too, about the biggest challenge on his successor's desk--"the particular challenge of China," he says. Amid all these topics, von Pierer reiterates the importance of people: "We all talk about people as our most important resource, but as a matter of fact, who's really taking care of people?...We need [their] backing. We can't afford to run into a situation where people no longer accept what we do."

• Change management
• Leadership
• Organizational culture
• Organizational restructuring
• Employee empowerment
• Globalization
• Organizational change
• Job interviews
• Innovation