By Alexander Hübner
MUNICH (Reuters) -Siemens Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe is open to extending his stint at the German engineering and technology company after his term expires next year, he told Reuters on Tuesday.
"At the 2025 Annual General Meeting, I will have been on the Supervisory Board for eleven and a half years. So I could extend my term again, not for four years, but perhaps for one or two years if necessary," Snabe said in an interview.
Snabe, a former chief executive at business software company SAP, has been Siemens' chairman since 2018 after joining the board in October 2013.
The 58-year-old Dane had previously left his future open because of concerns he would no longer be independent after 12 years on the board.
Snabe said it was important to have a chairman in place in this phase "to accelerate the development of the technology company". "Irrespective of this, we are of course looking for my successor," he said.
Siemens on Tuesday extended CEO Roland Busch's contract by five years until 2030, and that of Cedrik Neike, head of Siemens' flagship Digital Industries division.
Smart Infrastructure boss Matthias Rebellius is due to have his contract extended later this year.
Siemens' managing board currently has five members, relatively few for a company of its size.
"The advantage of a lean managing board is that there is a great deal of mutual trust there," Snabe said. "But I could imagine broadening the management board."
Siemens's Mobility train division is the only business not represented on the board. Snabe backed the division, which some investors have called to be separated from Siemens.
"Trains are an important part of an intelligent and sustainable infrastructure," he said. "And our Mobility business is doing better than that of all our competitors."
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by John Revill; Editing by Kirsti Knolle and Jan Harvey)
