Blackstone Announces Appointment of Dr. Ulrich Spiesshofer as Senior Advisor
London, June 23 2020 – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced the appointment of Dr. Ulrich Spiesshofer, former President and Chief Executive Officer of ABB Ltd, as Senior Advisor.
Dr. Spiesshofer brings three decades of executive leadership, active portfolio management and global operational and transformation expertise, across many sectors including industry, energy and infrastructure, to the firm.
He will work with Blackstone’s Private Equity and Infrastructure teams around the world identifying and executing value creation opportunities for our investors, as well as with Blackstone’s Private Equity and Infrastructure portfolio companies as they develop and implement their growth strategies.
Joe Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone, said: “Uli is a highly respected figure in the global business community and a superb leader. His wealth of knowledge and demonstrated ability to create value through operating transformation and growth, across multiple sectors, will be incredibly valuable to Blackstone and our investors. We are delighted that he is joining us as a Senior Advisor and are greatly looking forward to working with him.”
Dr. Spiesshofer said: “Companies around the world are currently facing a uniquely challenging environment. I have long admired Blackstone’s sector-focused, disciplined and people-oriented approach to investing and their delivery of value creation. Their globally recognised leading investing platform is testament to their constant innovation and global scale. I very much look forward to working closely with Joe Baratta and his highly-talented team across the diverse portfolio of businesses around the world.”
Dr. Spiesshofer was President and Chief Executive Officer of ABB for 6 years and member of the group executive committee for 14 years. Under his leadership ABB transformed into a leader focused on digital industries and one of the most respected technology companies, at the nexus of industrial products, robotics and software. Through active portfolio management and operational transformation, all five divisions of the group were positioned as global No. 1 or 2 leading businesses. Prior to being CEO, he successfully led the transformation of ABB’s Automation and Robotics business, doubling the business size, whilst tripling the profit contribution to ABB.
He also serves on the supervisory board of Infineon AG, Germany, a global semiconductor technology leader, chairing its strategy and technology committee. He was a member of the CEO roundtable of President Xi Jinping, Vice-Chairman of the International business leaders’ advisory council for the Mayor of Shanghai, and a founding member of the Swiss Federal government CEO roundtable.
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Notes to Editors
Dr. Spiesshofer, PhD is former President and CEO of ABB Ltd. During his tenure, he oversaw the firm’s transformation into a global technology leader driving the digital transformation of industries. Prior to ABB, he was Senior Partner and Global Head of Operations for Roland Berger AG and held senior management positions at A.T. Kearney LTD across Europe, the US, Australia and Asia.
He is also a former member of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce, a former member of the SelectUSA summit of the American government and a former member of the European Roundtable of Industrialists. At the World Economic Forum, he was member of the board of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and member of the governors’ group for Energy and “Future of Production.”
In 2019, Dr Spiesshofer was awarded Nasscom’s “Global CEO Award” in recognition of his leadership at ABB. In 2018, Fortune ranked ABB among the Top 10 Companies that “Change the world.” Dr. Spiesshofer earned a PhD in economics and a master’s degree in business administration and engineering at the university of Stuttgart, Germany. He serves on the supervisory board of Infineon AG, Germany.
Contact:
Ramesh Chhabra
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+44 (0)20 7451 4053
Rebecca Flower
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+44 (0)7918 360 372
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with $538 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.