Infineon’s Klaus Walther Announces Retirement
Infineon Technologies’ Klaus Walther (65) has announced his retirement. The date is 1 November 2020. He already arranged his succession at the start of the year, when Bernd Hops took over Infineon’s Communications department. Klaus Walther most recently served as Senior Advisor to the CEO.
Following a traineeship at the Münchner Merkur newspaper, he worked as a journalist for around 20 years, among others as a foreign correspondent in Washington, D.C. for the German national broadcasting system ZDF. This was followed by 24 years as a communications manager in the industry sector at Deutsche Lufthansa AG (1999 to 2013) and Ruhrgas AG (1996 to 1999).
“Klaus Walther is one of Germany’s best-known communications managers. Thanks to his tireless commitment, his high level of strategic expertise, and his extensive network, he has played a major role in the past seven years in heightening the understanding of the value Infineon contributes to society in the media, politics and public life,” says Dr. Reinhard Ploss, CEO of Infineon. “I thank him personally for his instinctive feel for communication and politics in accompanying numerous projects, such as our acquisitions of International Rectifier and, most recently, Cypress.”
Klaus Walther took over as Head of the merged Communications and Public Authorities & Associations departments at Infineon in 2013. Under his leadership, the semiconductor manufacturer’s Corporate Communications department received the “Thought Leadership Award 2019” for the best communication to shape major, public debates in industry and society. Other awards for Walther include “Germanys PR Manager of the Year” in 2001 and “Germanys PR Professional of the Year” in 2011.
