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Poland grad takes home-grown lessons to new job as Siemens Corp. president
Poland grad takes home-grown lessons to new job as Siemens Corp. president
By DON SHILLING
The new president of Siemens Corp., a multibillion-dollar industrial giant, traces his roots to some mom-and-pop businesses in the Mahoning Valley.
Eric Spiegel, a 1976 graduate of Poland Seminary High School, took over leadership of the Washington, D.C. -based organization in January.
Siemens Corp. is the U.S. division of Siemens AG, a German conglomerate with $104 billion in annual sales in technological products and services for the health-care, energy, and industrial sectors. The U.S. business has about one-quarter of those sales.
Spiegel said he learned how to deal with people by watching his father, Allen, who is now deceased interact with employees, customers and suppliers of his local businesses.
“My dad was a people person. He was able to find good people and develop good people,” Spiegel said.
His father opened the former Youngstown Sporting Goods store downtown and then went into a partnership to open Olympia Sporting Goods in the Boardman Plaza.
The second sporting-goods store closed in the early 1970s, and Allen Spiegel opened Beef & Keg, a German restaurant and bar in Struthers.
In the meantime, he operated Commercial Insulation, which installed insulation in schools, commercial buildings and nuclear-power plants.
Eric Spiegel said his father taught him to work hard and to take chances.
“He said, ‘Don’t settle for where you are. Always think about the next step. It’s a big world out there,’” he said.
Back in the 1970s when Spiegel was in high school, his father told him not to rely on local steel mills because that industry was suffering from global competition.
Allen Spiegel insisted his son attend a prestigious college to open more possibilities.
Eric Spiegel earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a master’s degree in business administration from Dartmouth College.
He came to Siemens from Booz & Co., where he was a senior partner for the global consulting company.
After working as a consultant for 24 years, Spiegel said he thought it was time to take over an operation so he could have a bigger impact.
Siemens is expanding its U.S. manufacturing presence. Spiegel said that’s happening because Siemens officials see an increase in the sentiment to “buy American” as the nation moves toward alternative forms of energy.
The company is creating between 3,000 and 4,000 “green” jobs in the U.S.
These include a plant in Kansas that is preparing to make wind turbines.
The first units are to be shipped in December. Siemens has set up a plant in Iowa to make the blades for the turbines.
Spiegel said he is spending time learning about Siemens’ other businesses, such as health care and electronics. He also meets with customers to learn their expectations and talks to federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The energy business is looking to be part of efforts to create a “smart grid” that will allow users to operate appliances and other devices more efficiently, while the health-care business wants to integrate more information technology into hospital systems, he said.
Spiegel said he expects to form an agenda for these areas in the next two to three months.