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BUSINESS

ABB Chief Exec quits ‘on personal grounds’

Zurich-based ABB is looking for a new CEO following the surprise announcement that American Joe Hogan is leaving the Swiss-Swedish technology concern.

Published: 10 May 2013 10:35 CEST
ABB Chief Exec quits ‘on personal grounds’
Joe Hogan has been at the ABB helm for five years. Photo: ABB

In a statement on Friday ABB said Hogan had decided to go “for private reasons”. A date for his departure had not yet been decided.

The 56-year-old US citizen will continue in his post until a replacement is found and is committed to a smooth transition, the company said.

“I have informed the board that I have decided to leave ABB. This has been a difficult decision,” it quoted Hogan as saying.

The background to Hogan’s decision remains unclear. A spokesman told the Swiss news agency SDA there had been no dispute between him and the ABB board.

Nor were there operative or health reasons.

It’s also not clear whether Hogan intends to return to the US.

“Joe is a great and successful CEO and has done a remarkable job of leading the company through the deepest economic crisis in living memory,” said Chairman Hubertus von Grünberg.

“ABB today is in a much better position than it was when he joined five years ago.”

“The Board sincerely regrets that Joe will be leaving the company,” von Grünberg said.

Hogan joined ABB as CEO in September 2008. During his time at the helm, ABB has invested about $20 billion to strengthen the company, the statement said.

Major investments have been made in acquisitions and in R&D.

ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies. The ABB Group operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.

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CRIME

Swiss administration hit by cyber attack

Swiss authorities are investigating a cyber attack on the IT company Xplain, whose clients include many federal and cantonal government departments, including the army and customs.

Published: 4 June 2023 09:14 CEST
Swiss administration hit by cyber attack

The online attack was revealed on Saturday by the newspaper Le Temps, which reported that “several cantonal police forces, the Swiss army and the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) have been indirectly affected”.

Xplain “has been the victim of a cyber attack by the PLAY ransomware group and has therefore filed a complaint with the Berne cantonal police,” company director Andreas Loewinger told AFP.

“They published some of the stolen data. This data was analysed and the next steps to be taken were discussed directly with the customers concerned”, he added.

Xplain is a Swiss company specialising in IT solutions for homeland security.

The company, which has offices in Switzerland, Spain and Germany, has called in the National Cyber Security Centre and investigations are underway.

“We have not made any contact with the PLAY group, and we will not pay any ransom”, Mr Loewinger stressed. 

Xplain said it does not yet know the extent of the data theft. But the company, which offers its customers online applications, said it does not store the applications and data itself.

The Federal Office of Customs and Border Security stated that elements of correspondence with Xplain had been affected, but that “the Office’s own data are not affected”.

The army, which was informed of the incident a few days ago, explained that it has been using a software solution from Xplain “for several years”, but that it is operated “via the Confederation’s own servers”.

“The civil authorities have opened a criminal procedure into the matter,” an army spokesman told AFP.

The Federal Police also assured that, according to current information, its “projects are not affected”. “

As in other countries, cyber attacks on businesses, government departments and universities are on the increase in Switzerland. Recently, two media outlets, CH Media and NZZ, were targeted by the Play hacker group.

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