German engineering group Siemens today named finance chief Joe Kaeser as its new boss after dumping chief executive Peter Loescher four years before the end of his contract.
This follows a second profit warning this year .
Loescher had promised that Siemens, whose products range from gas turbines to fast trains and ultrasound machines, would grow faster than rivals such as ABB, General Electric and Philips.
But profitability was held back by bungled acquisitions, charges for project delays and a focus on sales growth.
Last week, Siemens abruptly abandoned its target of boosting its core operating profit margin to at least 12% from 9.5% by 2014, which turned out to be the final straw for supervisory board members, most of whom voted for his dismissal at a meeting today.
Kaeser, 56, will take over from August 1, said Siemens, Germany's second-biggest company by value.
Loescher, whom the company said was resigning and leaving the board by mutual agreement, will remain on hand to help handle some ongoing issues until September 30, the company said.
The company also said it would publish its fiscal third-quarter financial results later today, a day ahead of schedule.
