Johannes Teyssen (born 10 September 1959) is a German manager who has been the chairman and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

(CEO) of E.ON, a German multinational electric utility company, since 2020.

Early life

Teyssen was born on 10 September 1959 in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...

, Germany. He went on to study economics and law at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

from where he graduated in 1984. He then went on to pursue doctoral studies in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, US, but returned to Germany to finish in 1991, earning a

Doctor of Jurisprudence The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree. After that he became a research assistant at Göttingen University.

Career

Teyssen’s first career role was as a law clerk at the State Superior Court in Celle, Germany. He stayed in that position until he joined PreussenElektra in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

in 1989. In 1991, after finishing his doctorate, he was promoted by PreussenElektra to head of energy and corporate law. In 1994, he earned another promotion, this time as head of legal affairs after his talent as a litigator was spotted by his superiors. In 1998, Teyssen joined the Hanover-based power company Hastra in his first executive position as member of the board. One year later, he was named chairman of the board of management at Avacon, based in Helmstedt. In 2001, Teyssen moved to E.ON Energies AG and two years later became chairman of its management board. In 2004, he was appointed to the board of

Fortum Fortum Oyj is a Finnish state-owned energy company located in Espoo, Finland. In addition to Finland, it focuses on Germany and other countries in Central Europe, Great Britain, Russia and the Nordic region. Fortum operates power plants, inc ...

(formerly known as E.ON Finland Oyj) and in 2005, he was promoted to

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

and deputy chairman of the board for E.ON Ruhrgas AG and E.ON Energy Trading AG. By 2008, he became COO for the entire group and was later appointed vice chairman and deputy CEO under the leadership of CEO Wulf Bernotat. In May 2010, Teyssen became CEO of E.ON Group. His tenure has been marked by decisions concerning Germany’s switch to renewable energy, which he cited as a huge opportunity. In January 2012, he spoke out against the

European Union Emission Trading Scheme The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a "cap and trade" scheme where a limit is placed on the right to emit specified pollutants over an area and companies can trade emission rights within that area. It covers around 45% of th ...

(EU ETS) and in 2013, he questioned the profitability of gas-fired plants. Under his leadership, E.ON agreed in 2018 to buy

Innogy Innogy SE was an energy company based in Essen, Germany. It is now merged and integrated into German energy company E.ON. History The company was created on 1 April 2016, by splitting the renewable, network and retail businesses of RWE into ...

from its controlling shareholder

RWE RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. The company is Europe's most climate threatening Company, the world's number two in offsh ...

, in a transaction that led E.ON to focus on power networks and retail customers. In 2015, Teysssen was a member of the search committee to select a new director of the

Museum Kunstpalast The Kunstpalast, formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf is an art museum in Düsseldorf. History The roots of the museum go back around 300 years. In 1932, the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Art) was housed in the Kunstmus ...

Other activities

Corporate boards

* BP, Non-Executive Member of the Board of Directors (since 2021) *

Nord Stream AG Nord Stream AG is a consortium for construction and operation of the Nord Stream 1 submarine pipeline between Vyborg in Russia and Greifswald in Germany. The consortium was incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, on 30 November 2005. The original ...

, Member of the Shareholders' Committee (since 2017) *

, Chairman of the Supervisory Board (2019-2020) *

Deutsche Bank AG Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stoc ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board (2008-2018) *

Salzgitter AG Salzgitter AG is a German company, one of the largest steel producers in Europe with an annual output of around seven million tonnes. With over 100 subsidiaries and associated companies, the Group is structured in five divisions – Steel, Tr ...

, Member of the Supervisory Board

Non-profit organizations

* Baden-Badener Unternehmer-Gespräche (BBUG), Member of the Board of Trustees * Federation of German Industries (BDI), Member of the Presidium (since 2010) *

Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft – or Stifterverband for short – is a registered not-for-profit association that is based in Essen and which also has a capital city office in Berlin. Its work is focused on education, science and inn ...

, Member of the Board *

Kiel Institute for the World Economy The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (Institut für Weltwirtschaft, or IfW) is an independent, non-profit economic research institute and think tank based in Kiel, Germany. In 2017, it was ranked as one of the top 50 most influential think ta ...

(IfW), Member of the Business Advisory Board *

European Round Table of Industrialists The European Round Table of Industrialists, abbreviated ERT, is an advocacy group in the European Union consisting of some 50 European industrial leaders working to strengthen competitiveness in Europe. The group works at both national and European ...

(ERT), Member *

European School of Management and Technology The European School of Management and Technology, also known as ESMT Berlin, is a private non-profit business school based in Berlin, Germany. The business school was founded in 2002 by 25 global companies and institutions including McKinsey & Co ...

(ESMT), Member of the International Advisory Council *

Eurelectric Eurelectric (full name: The Union of the Electricity Industry) is the sector association which represents the common interests of the electricity industry at a European level, plus its affiliates and associates on several other continents. Toget ...

, President (2013-2015) * German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, Member of the Board (2010-2016) *

World Energy Council The World Energy Council is a global forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement with headquarters in London. Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'. The idea for the fo ...

, Vice Chair (2006-2012)

Personal life

Teyssen is married with four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teyssen, Johannes Living people 1959 births Chief operating officers German chief executives