The Siemens Energy CEO reflects on being blindsided by an existential crisis early in his tenure, how a career abroad shaped his decision-making and the surprising lessons he learned from a stint working in a psychiatric institution.
In 2023, Christian Bruch faced the most challenging chapter of his tenure as CEO of Siemens Energy.
The crisis was sparked by severe quality issues in the company’s wind turbine division, Siemens Gamesa, leading to a €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) financial hit, a scrapped profit forecast and a dramatic plunge in the company’s share price.
“Absolutely an existential crisis—and I have to say, for months I could not sleep anymore,” Bruch told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on the Executive Decisions podcast.
Bruch opened up about navigating this turbulent period, the emotional toll it took and the leadership principles that helped him steer the company forward. He emphasized the importance of resilience, adaptability and learning from failure.
“This was the toughest time of my professional life,” he said.
To hear Christian Bruch’s full story and insights on leading through crisis, watch or listen to the full episode of Executive Decisions above. Subscribe to the podcast here.