Bilfinger elects new chief

An engineering and services group Bilfinger has appointed Thomas Blades as new Chairman of the Executive Board.

Bilfinger said on Tuesday that Blades’ current employer, Linde AG, has agreed on an early cancellation of his current contract. Further, the company stated that the concerned parties were coordinating when exactly Thomas Blades would take up his duties.

Bilfinger expects that he will assume the position of Chairman of the Executive Board by the third quarter of 2016 at the latest, said the company.

“Thomas Blades is a renowned industry expert who brings with him a broad range of experience in customer industries that are important for Bilfinger. Over the course of his career, he has repeatedly proven his ability to master complex management tasks and successfully reposition companies,” says Eckhard Cordes, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Bilfinger.

Blades has been a Member of the Executive Board at Linde since 2012 where he is responsible, among other things, for the Americas business.

At Bilfinger, in addition to his function as CEO, Blades will also be responsible for the Industrial business segment, the company noted. He succeeds Per H. Utnegaard who stepped down at the end of April 2016.

In the interim period, Bilfinger CFO Axel Salzmann has assumed the role of Chairman of the Executive Board in addition to his other tasks.

Prior to his time at Linde, Blades was CEO of the Oil & Gas Division at Siemens and served in management positions at international oil field service providers Haliburton and Schlumberger.