Newly appointed Siemens (NYSE:SI) CEO Joe Kaeser is bullish about the company’s prospects, calling Siemens "virtually unbeatable" – as long as it retains the right people.
Kaeser, Siemens’ former CFO who took over the corner office just last week, said in a recent shareholders letter that his top priorities at the moment are "to steer Siemens back into calm waters and build a powerful team."
The German healthcare giant has recently faced some inner turmoil amidst the ouster of former CEO Peter Löscher, who was booted from the helm late last month. Loescher’s departure, which cut his contract short by 4 years, came in the wake of several missed earnings reports and profit warning letters for Siemens.
Siemens issued its latest profit alert letter on July 25, warning that the company does not expect to achieve its 2014 margins, but new head Kaeser maintained that the company doesn’t need a major overhaul to get back on track.
"The company is most definitely not in a crisis, and it is not in need of major restructuring," Kaeser said in the shareholders letter. "But we’ve been too preoccupied with ourselves lately and we’re facing challenges with respect to profitability against our competitors."
Wall Street has responded favorably to the CEO-swap at Siemens, with shares up nearly 6% since July 30.
