From zero to one billion euros - Deutsche Telekom launches new business segments with three top managers

* “Intelligent Network Solutions” to contribute significant share of revenues by 2015
* Areas of energy, smart vehicles and healthcare are the growth drivers of the future

The new strategy of Deutsche Telekom AG “Fix - Transform - Innovate: from Telco to Telco Plus”, continues to take shape: today, CEO René Obermann introduced the three top managers for the areas of smart grids, smart vehicles and networked healthcare. Gabriele Riedmann de Trinidad will expand Deutsche Telekom’s portfolio in the energy segment. Horst Leonberger will be responsible for the smart vehicles business area and Axel Wehmeier for healthcare. Their financial mission: the “Intelligent Network Solutions” area is to grow from today’s zero figure to around one billion euros by 2015.

“With smart grids and innovative Internet solutions, we want to seize digitalization as an opportunity for sustained growth. Thanks to their personal experiences and technical expertise, the new heads of the Group business areas are the best drivers for these crucial future markets,” said René Obermann when presenting the managers in Bonn. “Our intelligent network solutions are entering markets with significant growth potential at exactly the right time. Our three top managers will be able to capture this major potential,” added Reinhard Clemens, CEO at T-Systems.

The EU directive on renewable energies, which came into force in 2009, demands a 20 percent share of electricity from regenerative sources by 2020, while the German Energy Act (EnWG) demands a 30 percent renewable share of the German power mix. With services to support smart grids and smart meters, Deutsche Telekom intends to share in this growth and become a top partner to the energy sector.

Deutsche Telekom is teaming with partners to develop solutions for safe, efficient driving, economical and environmentally friendly fleet management and possibilities for networking electric cars in the smart vehicles business area. With 350 million vehicles in Europe alone, Deutsche Telekom sees significant market potential in this segment.

Demographic change and increasing budgetary pressures are major challenges to the healthcare system. To master the delicate balancing act between increasing demand for healthcare services and tight budgets, the industry will have to rely increasingly on information and communication technology. These developments will give e-Health a major boost in coming years. Deutsche Telekom is adopting a strategic, long-term stance for this market.

Information and communication technologies are a decisive growth factor in all business sectors, one which Deutsche Telekom intends to put to good use. René Obermann: “Our portfolio focuses directly on the innovation process. Close collaborations in which each partner contributes their expertise will make us an ideal partner for the industries.”


The new heads of the Group business areas

Gabriele Riedmann de Trinidad has a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. From 1992 to 2008, she worked for Siemens AG and Nokia Siemens Networks in various countries - including Germany, Mexico and Indonesia. She held a number of management positions, in which she focused on launching and heading international projects in the area of telecommunications networks. In the last two years, Gabriele Riedmann de Trinidad headed the Advanced Metering Service (AMS) unit for Europa, the Middle East and Africa at Swiss company Landis + Gyr AG, a leading vendor of electricity metering systems.

Horst Leonberger studied engineering cybernetics at the University of Stuttgart. After holding several posts in the IT and telecommunications industry (including at Digital Equipment and British Telecom), he moved to the Deutsche Telekom Group in 1994 as Senior Key Account Manager, heading up various sales teams. In 1999, Horst Leonberger took over as Global Account Executive for the DaimlerChrysler Group and, over the next few years, also took on global responsibility for automotive countries as well as steering projects such as the launch of T-Systems in China and Japan. From 2006, he headed the Automotive and Manufacturing industry lines and, in 2008 after implementing Corporate Customers, took charge of the Volkswagen Group Global Account, which he developed into one of T-Systems’ top reference customers.

Dr. Axel Wehmeier joined Deutsche Telekom in 1998 and initially concentrated on pricing and competition policies. He became head of the Pricing unit in 2000 and head of Regulatory Strategy & Principles in 2002. In 2004, he took over management of the René Obermann’s Operating Office at T-Mobile. In 2006, he followed René Obermann to Deutsche Telekom as Head of Corporate Office.

About Deutsche Telekom AG
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with over 131 million mobile customers, around 37 million fixed-network lines and nearly 16 million broadband lines (as of June 30, 2010). The Group provides fixed-network, mobile-communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers, and ICT solutions for business and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has over 251,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenue of EUR 64.6 billion in the 2009 financial year - over half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2009).