2011 was the year a new breed of CEOs began to appear at the helms of some of Germany’s largest corporations: the energy group RWE, the chemical giant BASF, the universal bank Deutsche Bank, and the company that was once synonymous with steelmaking, Thyssenkrupp.

A New CEO with an External Industry Background

Four things set Thyssenkrupp’s new CEO Heinrich Hiesinger apart: his election didn’t feature the extreme boardroom drama and leadership conflicts experienced at RWE and Deutsche Bank. He was to lead a conglomerate that was substantially more diversified than the others and he was the only new CEO not promoted from within (he was, in fact, a veteran of Siemens, having lasted two decades, and the first boss at Thyssenkrupp to come from outside the steel industry) – finally, he was to take up the reins of a company that was simultaneously battling nearly every kind of problem one could possibly imagine: a massive downturn in key markets, ballooning losses at many plants, ill-fated international expansion projects, corruption allegations, cartel charges, corporate governance issues and severe credit downgrades.

The Road Ahead

Mr. Hiesinger was facing a daunting task but was unshakably certain he could steer this capsizing ship into a safe harbor. Somewhat ironically, Thyssenkrupp has three hundred years of expertise and experience in the construction of ships.