Siemens surprise as CFO quits

In shock move Heinz-Joachim Neubürger, the respected chief financial officer of Siemens, resigned from the engineering company yesterday.

The 53-year-old was key figure in the complex conglomerate and still had a year to run on his contract, but said he was leaving the company for 'personal reasons'.

According to the Financial Times, Neubürger, who has held the position for eight years, wanted to rebuild his personal life after a splitting up with his wife two years ago.

Analysts said they were disappointed to see the departure of Neubürger.

'It's a big disappointment. He was one of the best CFOs in Europe. And he was a very senior figure at Siemens, far more so than other CFOs at other companies,' Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Uglow told the FT.