Edwin Somm

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Edwin Somm (2019)

Edwin Somm (born February 16, 1933 in Waldkirch ; legal domicile in Sulgen TG ) is a Swiss manager .

Life

Somm studied mechanical engineering at the ETH Zurich and graduated in 1959 with a diploma. He joined Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) in Baden AG in 1960 as a development engineer for steam turbines . In 1977 he was appointed head of the large turbo groups division. From 1980 he was head of the power generation division. Following the merger of BBC with ASEA to ABB Somm was Managing Director (CEO) of ABB Switzerland. Under his leadership, ABB Switzerland managed the turnaround from lost competitiveness and losses to profitable business. At the same time, Somm was a member of the supervisory board of ABB Germany until his retirement in 1997. From 1997 to 2002 he was a member of the board of directors of the entire ABB group.

In addition to his work for ABB, Somm was a member of the board of directors of Georg Fischer AG (+ GF +) in Schaffhausen , Swiss Steel AG in Emmenbrücke and SIG Holding in Neuhausen am Rheinfall from 1994 to 2002 , where he was chairman of the board of directors of SIG from 2000 to 2003. From 1992 to 1999 he was also a member of the ETH Board . From 1995 to 1999 he was President of the Employers' Association of the Swiss Machine Industry and the Association of Swiss Machine Manufacturers, as well as a board member of the Swiss Trade and Industry Association .

Somm is co-founder of the Baden Industry World Association , which aims to process the industrial and cultural heritage of the city and region of Baden AG .

Somm has two sons, including the journalist Markus Somm , and a daughter.

Positions

In retirement, Somm commented on Switzerland's Energy Strategy 2050 , which, in his opinion, made the country largely dependent on foreign countries for electricity, while Switzerland has been largely self-sufficient for more than a hundred years. According to forecasts, Switzerland will be unable to import the electricity it needs from around 2025. From this point on, the neighboring countries of Germany and France should no longer be considered as electricity exporters because they cannot generate enough electricity for themselves. This could lead to extensive power outages (blackouts) in Switzerland, especially in the winter months. Somm proposes the rapid construction of gas-steam power plants (CCGT). The existing storage lakes should also be consistently protected and managed as seasonal batteries.

Somm also commented on events at the former employer ABB. This is how he justified his refusal to sell the power grid division to Japanese competitor Hitachi .

He also commented on the education system in Switzerland . As a manager at ABB, he already rated the importance of vocational training for skilled workers as high and made it a top priority. He introduced the concept of industrial job profiles and created learning centers for the targeted training of skilled workers. He put this experience on a broader basis in specialist organizations.

With regard to corporate management, Somm is a staunch advocate of the stakeholder approach, whereby for him the customers should be the focus of the company managers. He finds the strict orientation of the company's activities only after short-term shareholder interests unsatisfactory.

literature

  • Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences (Ed.): Teaching and research at the ETH Zurich. A commemorative publication for the 150th anniversary. Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin 2005, ISBN 978-3-7643-7533-1 , p. 156 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Profile of Edwin Somm. Professional career at BBC and ABB. In: ABB Hauszeitung , 1988 / 1–2, p. 14
  2. ↑ a b BBC house newspaper, Baden, 1977/2, p. 66
  3. ↑ After the merger went up: Edwin Somm & ABB 1991. Swiss Television SRF, news clip, March 23, 2018 accessed on 5 November of 2019.
  4. ↑ 33 questions for Edwin Somm «Are you a job killer?» In: SonntagsBlick . March 24, 1996.
  5. ^ Annual reports 1997 to 2002 of the ABB Group, Zurich
  6. ↑ Annual Report 2002. Georg Fischer AG, 2003, p. 5
  7. ↑ Annual Report 2002 SIG Holding AG (short version), p. 3
  8. ^ The industrial world of Baden - It is an affair of the heart. srf.ch, Friday, March 23, 2018, accessed on October 24, 2019
  9. ↑ a b Personal. Conversation with Edwin Somm. SRF.ch, July 12, 1998, accessed on March 20, 2020.
  10. ↑ Edwin Somm: So that Switzerland doesn't run out of electricity. NZZ, September 25, 2018, accessed on November 5, 2019.
  11. ↑ Patrik Müller : Ex-ABB boss on the Hitachi deal: "Spiesshofer sedative pills are not worth much". Aargauer Zeitung, December 22, 2018, accessed October 24, 2019
  12. ^ Edwin Somm: Edwin Somm on the education system in Switzerland. hanshuberstiftung.org, accessed October 24, 2019
  13. ^ Edwin Somm: Corporate Social Responsibility. Management summary, Prof. Stephan Wirz, Paulusakademie, Zurich
  14. ↑ Edwin Somm: The company is primarily there for the customer. Lilienberg Colloquium on January 29, 2013, accessed on November 15, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Somm, Edwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss manager
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Waldkirch