OREANDA-NEWS. Ulrich Hartmann, for many years CEO and Supervisory Board Chairman of the energy utility E.ON, passed away today at the age of 75 years.

“Ulrich Hartmann was one of the most important German and European business leaders. With his passing, not only E.ON has lost a man who has moved and created a great deal with farsighted leadership, courage and competence. We mourn the loss of Ulrich Hartmann who has marked our company's successful history more than anyone else. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family”, said Werner Wenning, the Supervisory Board Chairman of E.ON SE.

“With his courage and vision, with his unmatched combination of strategic consistency and tactical resourcefulness, Ulrich Hartmann over many years left his mark on E.ON as it was built up and developed into a successful, international and competitive company. With deep gratitude, we will always hold his memory in the highest esteem”, emphasized Johannes Teyssen, CEO of E.ON SE.

Ulrich Hartmann began his career in 1973 as General Counsel of VEBA, one of E.ON's predecessor companies. Between 1975 and 1980, he served as Director of the Corporate Office and of Public Relations; subsequently, he was appointed to the Board of Management of VEBA's subsidiary Nordwestdeutsche Kraftwerke. Between 1985 and 1989, he served as CFO of PreussenElektra. In 1989, he joined VEBA as CFO and was appointed CEO of VEBA in 1993.

In the 1990s, Ulrich Hartmann already realised that there was a need for fundamental modernization and internationalization of Germany's economy. Under his leadership, VEBA was one of the first companies to pursue a policy which was consistently focused on growth and shareholder value. Consistently and courageously, he took advantage of the business opportunities provided by the liberalization of the European energy markets in 1998. The merger between Veba and Viag, which was successfully implemented within a short period of time, led to E.ON - a new company geared to the European market with a clear strategic focus on the energy business.

In an unprecedented transformation process with a transaction volume of more than 100 billion euros, Ulrich Hartmann focused the new company on the energy business, which rapidly expanded into European dimensions. Due to major acquisitions such as that of the British company Powergen or of Ruhrgas, as well as a large number of smaller steps, E.ON became one of Europe's largest investor-owned and most international energy utilities within a few years.

As planned during the merger, Ulrich Hartmann resigned from his office as CEO of E.ON in 2003 and became Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Until 2011, when he left E.ON, he continued in his position as Supervisory Board Chairman to promote the further integration of the E.ON Group, the development of a new international Renewables Business Unit, the entry into the Russian electricity business and a number of other expansion steps.

In his entrepreneurial decisions, Ulrich Hartmann was always aware of the fact that the political environment played a particularly important role for the energy industry. Time and again, he succeeded in creating a balance between the E.ON Group's corporate objectives and the expectations of policymakers and society. He was motivated by the conviction that E.ON would only be successful if the company was accepted by policymakers and society. In his opinion, the market and competition provided the best setting for reconciling the public interest with the interests of the company, as well as those of its employees and customers.

Ulrich Hartmann combined his entrepreneurial decisions and actions with a fine sensitivity for the needs, perspectives and interests of the people he encountered. This made him an accomplished chairman of boards and committees, a both fair and successful negotiator and, most importantly, a charismatic leader who was able to inspire others to achieve exceptional performance.

His cosmopolitan approach was reflected not least by his commitment to art. For Ulrich Hartmann, art was both recreation and a source of strength. This became particularly manifest in E.ON's cooperation with the City of Dusseldorf, when the new Museum Kunstpalast am Ehrenhof was built in architectural harmony with E.ON's adjacent new Corporate Centre. As a partner to the Museum Kunstpalast Foundation, E.ON has successfully continued this unique project, which was initiated and implemented by Ulrich Hartmann.