r, 49, head of global human health at U.S. drugmaker Merck since April 2006, will take office on July 1, Siemens said in a statement. Klaus Kleinfeld will step down as Siemens president and chief executive on June 30, 2007, Siemens said.
Speculation on who would fill Kleinfeld's post has been running high in recent weeks with a number of names mentioned in media reports but not that of the Austrian-born Loescher.
He has gained management experience at General Electric, where he headed the GE healthcare bio-sciences division as well as at Amersham, Aventis Pharma and Hoechst, Siemens said.
Siemens, rocked by a bribery scandal, has been keen to find new leadership following the resignation of its non-executive chairman and its chief executive last month.
Kleinfeld said in April he will step down as CEO once his contract expires at the end of September after failing to get clear backing from the supervisory board for a contract renewal.
Siemens is being investigated by German and U.S. authorities in several separate cases of suspected bribery involving hundreds of millions of euros.
