October 1, 2008 – Danfoss announced that effective today, its president and CEO, Jorgen M. Clausen, has retired and that his successor, Niels B. Christiansen, has assumed these positions. Clausen will become chairman of the company after Danfoss’s Annual General Meeting in the spring of 2009, its Board of Directors said.Christiansen joined the company in 2004 as its chief operating officer and a member of its executive committee.
In May of 2007, he earned a promotion to the position of vice-CEO. “Niels will lead a young, dynamic team and I have great confidence in their collective ability to succeed and drive Danfoss forward,” Clausen said. “During his time at Danfoss, Niels has shown that he is highly capable of renewing our business while affirming the company’s values and history. As a socially responsible innovator in the manufacturing industry, we are committed to engineering technology that conserves energy and slows climate change, and this approach will not change at all.”Christiansen will head the company’s Executive Committee, which consists of the Executive Vice Presidents Kim Fausing (COO) and Frederik Lotz (CFO).
“I am excited about our opportunities and challenges that lie before us,” stated Christiansen. “We are completely focused on driving our business forward and meeting the needs of our customers in tackling global energy efficiency and conservation issues.”Jorgen Clausen is the eldest son of Danfoss founder Mads Clausen, an engineer who established the company in 1933 in his parent’s attic in Nordborg, Denmark. “Now is the best time for me to retire from the company’s day-to-day operations and concentrate on my directorships, which include both the chairmanship of Sauer-Danfoss and membership of the board of the Bitten and Mads Clausen Foundation, the charitable organization established by Danfoss’s founder and my father,” Jorgen Clausen concluded.
Danfoss, a global leader in the research, development and production of mechanical and electronic components and systems, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. From the beginning, Danfoss products and components have focused on providing the optimum control and highest level of efficiency to suit the application and customer requirements. Worldwide, the company has 70 factories in 25 countries, 114 sales offices, and 23,000 employees.
