The economist and "economic sage" Veronika Grimm has been elected to the Supervisory Board of the energy technology group Siemens Energy, despite criticism from some of her colleagues.

Grimm received 76.43 percent of the votes at the Annual General Meeting on Monday, the company announced. She had introduced herself to the shareholders at the beginning of the virtual meeting. The expert emphasized that she had closely followed Siemens Energy's progress to date. "For me, Siemens Energy is one of the most exciting companies in the world. With its comprehensive portfolio, it plays a decisive role in the global realization of the energy transition."

Grimm has been a member of the German Council of Economic Experts, which advises the German government on economic issues, since April 2020. Council Chairwoman Monika Schnitzer and other members had warned that Grimm's appointment to the supervisory body posed a challenge for the Council due to potential conflicts of interest. According to media reports, they had urged their colleague to leave the Expert Council if she were to take up the mandate. Grimm had explained that she had had it checked whether the Supervisory Board mandate was compatible with her role on the Expert Council. In addition, there had been a compliance check at Siemens Energy with the result that the case was unobjectionable.

Siemens AG, which holds a stake in Siemens Energy, stated that it did not vote in favor of Grimm's appointment. The reason given was a conflict of interest.

(Report by Tom Käckenhoff. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)