Business

Thursday October 1, 2009

Prakash tipped to helm Siemens

BY DALJIT DHESI


Indian expat slated to be first non-German CEO

PETALING JAYA: Prakash Chandran, Siemens Malaysia’s executive vice-president and head of energy sector (Asean), is tipped to become its next president and chief executive officer, making him the first non-German to helm the company.

A source told StarBiz Prakash would be accepting the baton from the company’s current president and CEO, Tan Sri Rainer Althoff, in November, when the latter retires at the end of this month.

Prakash Chandran

Prakash, who is an Indian expatriate, had been with the company for some time and had the experience to ensure its smooth operations, he said.

An industry observer said irrespective of the nationality, he felt the person to head a multinational corporation (MNC) like Siemens should be one with the capability and expertise to run the show.

He added that more Malaysians should also be given the opportunity to head MNCs as there were many capable ones around.

The well diversified Siemens has been in operations in Malaysia for more than 35 years and is involved in the industry, energy, healthcare and consumer sectors.

Projects undertaken by the company include the design and construction of the KLIA Ekspres airport link (with world-class on-time performance), the setting up of an extensive communications network and fire alarm system for over 6,000 rooms at the world’s largest hotel in Genting Highlands and the ERL Baggage Handling Systems Project for KL International Airport.

Siemens group of companies in Malaysia includes Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Siemens Industrial Workshop Sdn Bhd, Osram (M) Sdn Bhd and Osram Opto Semiconductors (M) Sdn Bhd.

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