, said the United States was much more advanced, and also more successful, in the field of shareholder activism.
"A leaner set-up can take advantage of untapped energy and crystallise hidden value, especially in a complex environment with difficult market conditions," he told Reuters. As CEO of conglomerate Siemens AG from 2013 until 2021, he engineered one of Germany's most successful corporate break-ups, separately listing Siemens Energy and Siemens HealthineersManagement and governance problems are still rife in Germany, creating activist opportunities, said Kaeser. He said a certain "friends and family" attitude in German board rooms meant there was less awareness that companies belong to their shareholders than elsewhere.
For Siemens shareholders, the slimming-down paid off. German wealth manager Flossbach von Storch said last month Siemens had created around 126 billion euros in value - defined by dividends, share buybacks and stock price development - since 2003, the most among all German listed companies. But another leaner machine serves as a reminder that there's no guarantee shrinking will unlock value - conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, which has been shedding assets for years, is among the biggest value destroyers, the study found.Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Ludwig Burger; Additional reporting by Svea Herbst, David Carnevali and Emma-Victoria Farr; Editing by Josephine Mason and Jan Harvey