Business News

ABB appoints Christoph Sieder as new head of Group Corporate Communications

Monday 19. May 2014 - Experienced and acknowledged global communications manager becomes head of Corporate Communications effective July 1, 2014

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has appointed Christoph Sieder as head of Group Corporate Communications. Sieder, an Austrian national, is currently Senior Vice President Communications at specialty chemicals group, LANXESS AG, Cologne, Germany. He will report directly to ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer and succeeds Clarissa Haller, who will leave ABB at the end of May to become head of Group Communications for Credit Suisse.
Sieder, born in 1970, is an acknowledged global communications manager, having led communications departments at leading companies in the chemical, technology and automotive sectors. At LANXESS AG, he built up a global corporate communications function and organization, following its spin-off from Bayer in 2004, and successfully positioned the company as a leading brand in its field. He also established communications as a value-added, business-oriented service to the company’s 14 business units.
Commenting on Sieder’s appointment, ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer, said: “Christoph Sieder is an outstanding global corporate communications manager, who has been instrumental in shaping strong brands in a variety of environments and through several business cycles. He is a team-oriented change leader with a distinct performance focus and has a proven record in significantly increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of modern corporate communications.”
Prior to joining LANXESS AG, Sieder was responsible for corporate communications at Infineon Technologies AG, in Munich, where he played a key role in re-defining the company’s reputation post 2002. Before that, he held various communications roles for companies in the automotive sector, including Fiat and Ford Motor Company in Austria, the UK, Germany and Eastern Europe.
Sieder holds a master’s degree in public relations as well as a degree in communications from the University of Vienna.
“Christoph Sieder will be instrumental in further strengthening the ABB brand,” said Spiesshofer. “With him on board and our strong existing team, we have an outstanding communications capability to support us in taking ABB to the next level.”