Siemens is restructuring its automation business. As part of the company’s “ONE Tech Company” strategy, four existing business units will be consolidated into the new Automation unit effective October 1, 2026. These include Customer Services, Factory Automation, Motion Control, and Process Automation. Rainer Brehm, who was appointed President of the new organization by the Executive Board, will take the helm. In this role, he will report to Cedrik Neike, a member of the Executive Board and CEO of Digital Industries.
Four Siemens automation divisions to be merged
With this organizational consolidation, Siemens is bringing together key competencies of its automation business under a single leadership structure. Previously, customer service, factory automation, drive technology, and process automation were organized into separate business divisions. The new structure is designed in particular to support the integration of automation technology with software and artificial intelligence. Cedrik Neike emphasizes, that the future of industry lies in the integration of automation, software, and AI, for faster innovation, greater scalability, and tailor-made customer solutions. That is why the company is creating the Automation unit. With Rainer Brehm at the helm, the unit is led by a manager who is familiar with both the technologies used and the markets and customers.
Rainer Brehm takes over new Automation unit
Brehm is already active in Siemens’ automation business. In his previous role as COO of the automation business and CTO of Digital Industries, he was involved in its strategic development. His areas of focus included, among other things, software-defined automation and industrial artificial intelligence. Prior to that, he served as CEO of the Factory Automation business unit. With this appointment, Brehm now assumes responsibility for the consolidated automation divisions. For Rainer Brehm, artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming industry. This makes a strong automation partner all the more important. Among his goals, he cites the continued development toward AI-supported autonomous production.
Siemens combines automation, software, and AI
The reorganization is part of the “ONE Tech Company” strategy, through which Siemens aims to more closely integrate its technological competencies. For the automation business, this means that different areas of discrete and process-oriented automation will be managed within a single organization going forward. In addition to traditional automation technology, software and industrial AI are gaining in importance. Software-defined automation is also among the technologies Brehm has already been involved with in his previous role. The merger of the business units creates a unified organizational structure for this purpose. The personnel decision is also closely linked to the strategic direction: automation, software, and artificial intelligence are to be developed and deployed more collaboratively within the industrial business going forward.
