ABB Board Nominates Peter Voser As Next Chairman

ZURICH, Switzerland (18 December 2014)—ABB Chairman Hubertus von Grünberg and Michael Treschow have decided not to stand for re-election to the board of directors at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM). The board of directors of ABB unanimously nominated Peter Voser to succeed Hubertus von Grünberg as chairman. David Constable will stand for election at the AGM, as previously announced, and all other members of the board will stand for re-election. Shareholders will vote on the proposed changes on 30 April 2015. “I am delighted that Peter Voser has accepted to stand for election as chairman of ABB,” Hubertus von Grünberg said. “Peter Voser brings intimate knowledge of ABB and its key markets as well as an excellent track record as a leader in large, global organizations.” Shareholders elect board members for a one-year term and will vote on the nominations at the AGM on 30 April. The board intends to elect Jacob Wallenberg as vice-chairman of the board after the AGM. Von Grünberg has been chairman of the ABB board since May 2007. During his tenure ABB’s revenues have risen from about US$23 billion in 2006 to US$42 billion in 2013, while net income has doubled. Under his leadership, ABB also achieved an unprecedented global balance in its business across Europe, the Americas, Asia/Middle East and Africa. In his time as chairman, ABB launched many breakthrough innovations including a breaker for high-voltage direct current (HVDC), the revolutionary human-machine collaborative robot YuMi, and Emax2, the world’s first low-voltage circuit breaker that also functions as an energy manager. Michael Treschow, chairman of the Governance and Nomination Committee, joined the ABB board in 2003 and has contributed strongly to the company’s return to profitable growth with his wealth of industrial leadership experience in key markets of ABB. In addition to Hubertus von Grünberg, the current members of the ABB board are Roger Agnelli, Matti Alahuhta, Louis R. Hughes, Michel de Rosen, Michael Treschow, Jacob Wallenberg and Ying Yeh. “I am honored to be nominated as chairman of the board and look forward to working with ABB’s CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer, his executive team and the board of directors to drive accelerated sustainable value creation through the implementation of the recently announced Next Level strategy,” said Peter Voser. Peter Voser, a Swiss citizen, was CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world’s largest companies, from 2009 to the end of 2013. Prior to this he served as chief financial officer (CFO) of Royal Dutch Shell. Between 1982 and 2002 Voser worked for Shell and served in a number of finance and business roles in Switzerland, the U.K., Argentina and Chile. Between 2002 and October 2004, Peter Voser was CFO of ABB Ltd. and a key leader behind the successful turnaround and repositioning of the company for long-term profitable growth. Voser also brings a wealth of experience as a board member of publicly listed companies such as Roche, UBS (until 2010) and Aegon (until 2006). ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance and lower their environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.