Ex-Siemens man to replace Bilfinger CFO

An engineering and services group Bilfinger has appointed Klaus Patzak as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The company said on Thursday that Patzak will take over as CFO on October 1. He will succeed Axel Salzmann who will step down from the position.

Namely, Bilfinger accepted Salzmann’s request for an early termination of his contract as of September 30, 2016, and to step down from his position as CFO and Member of the Executive Board

Eckhard Cordes, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Bilfinger, said: “Bilfinger has been able to gain an experienced industry manager and capital markets expert in Klaus Patzak.

“He successfully shaped the initial public offering of Osram and, as Chief Financial Officer, restructured Osram AG and made it viable for the future. He also served in a number of management functions at Siemens AG, most recently as Head of Accounting and Controlling for the entire group.”

Regarding the departure of Salzmann, Cordes added: “We would like to thank Axel Salzmann for his successful commitment. He laid important groundwork for the repositioning of Bilfinger in complex times.”

Axel Salzmann has been Chief Financial Officer at Bilfinger SE since April 1, 2015. In May and June 2016 he took over the responsibilities of Chief Executive Officer on an interim basis.

This is Bilfinger’s second high-profile executive change in recent months after Tom Blades took over on July 1 as the Chairman of the Executive Board.