Gerard Kleisterlee

Gerard Kleisterlee
Kleisterlee in 2022
Born (1946-09-28) 28 September 1946 (age 78)
Ludwigsburg, Germany
NationalityDutch
EducationEindhoven University of Technology
University of Pennsylvania
Known forformer CEO, Philips
Children3

Gerard Johannes Kleisterlee (born 28 September 1946) is a Dutch businessman and engineer. He is the chairman of Vodafone, former supervisory board chairman of ASML Holding, and the former president and CEO of Philips.

Early life

Born in Ludwigsburg, Germany, on 28 September 1946 to Dutch and German parents, he was raised in the Netherlands.[1][2][3] He was educated at a Jesuit-run Canisius College in Winterswijk,[4][5] followed by the Eindhoven University of Technology, where he earned a MSc degree in electronic engineering.[6] He received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School in 1991.[7] He attended the program for executive development at the Swiss business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne.[citation needed]

Career

Trained as an electronics engineer, like his father, he worked at Philips for almost all of his life. From 1981 to 1986 he was general manager of Philips' Professional Audio Product Group. Kleisterlee joined Philips Components in 1986. After becoming general manager of Philips Display Components for Europe. He was appointed managing director of Philips Display Components Worldwide in 1994. He became president of Philips Taiwan and Regional Manager for Philips Components in Asia-Pacific in 1996. From September 1997 through June 1998 he was also responsible for all the activities of the Philips Group in China. He served on the Hong Kong Chief Executive's Council of International Advisers from 1998 to 2005.[8]

In May 2001 Kleisterlee succeeded Cor Boonstra as CEO of Philips.[3][9] In 2006, he spun off the volatile semiconductors business into a separate entity NXP Semiconductors, and then sold a controlling 80.1% stake to a consortium of private equity investors.[10] His tenure as CEO has been credited with turning the company around and returning Philips to its original focus areas.[11][12]

He was succeeded by Frans van Houten as CEO of Philips in April 2011. A director of Dell, Kleisterlee was nominated as the successor at Vodafone to chairman John Bond in January 2011, a position he assumed in July 2011.[13] He was awarded an Honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven in 2005.[5] He was named 2006 Europe Businessman of the Year by Fortune.[14]

Personal life

He is married, with three children.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Gerard Kleisterlee profile". Munzinger-Archiv (in German).
  2. ^ Fabricius, Michael (26 August 2007). "Gerard Kleisterlee". Die Welt (in German).
  3. ^ a b Kerbusk, Klaus-Peter; Tuma, Thomas (25 November 2001). ""Wir brauchen Mut zu Fehlern"" ["We need the courage to make mistakes"]. Der Spiegel (in German).
  4. ^ Davidson, Andrew (8 May 2005). "The Andrew Davidson Interview: Philips's healthy option". The Sunday Times.
  5. ^ a b Hetzel, Helmut (26 August 2007). "Ein Leben lang für Philips" [A lifetime for Philips]. Die Welt (in German).
  6. ^ a b Teather, David (1 April 2010). "Hard-wired: Kleisterlee is reinventing the inventive Dutch firm Philips". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  7. ^ Wharton Alumni Magazine: 125 Influential People and Ideas: Gerard Kleisterlee Archived 2008-01-04 at the Wayback Machine, wharton.upenn.edu; accessed 10 March 2017.
  8. ^ Speech by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, info.gov.hk; accessed 10 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Philips's new frontiersman". The Economist. 3 May 2001.
  10. ^ "NXP Hits The Ground Running". Forbes. 1 September 2006.
  11. ^ Schenker, Von Jennifer L. (11 September 2007). "Philips Maps Out a New Direction". Der Spiegel.
  12. ^ Wylie, Ian. "Can Philips Learn to Walk the Talk?". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2012-07-27. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Vodafone appoints Gerard Kleisterlee as new chairman". BBC News. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  14. ^ "Europe Businessman of the Year: Kleisterlee, Philips CEO" Archived 2008-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, cnn.com; accessed 10 March 2017.