Company history

The “Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerk AG” (RWE) was founded on April 25 in 1898 in order to initially provide the city Essen with electricity. The first power station was built in Segeroth, a suburb of Essen. In 1902, August Thyssen and Hugo Stinnes acquired the majority of RWE with the aid of their consortium including Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank and Disconto-Gesellschaft. Especially an aggressive acquisition policy and numerous foundations of electric power stations and public utilities under the leadership of Alfred Thiel (managing board 1902–1930) and Bernhard Goldenberg (managing board 1904–1917) quickly paved RWE’s way as one of the biggest energy companies in Germany. Between 1936 and 1966, the affiliated company “Rheinisch-Westfälische Straßen- und Kleinbahnen GmbH” was actively dealing with the energy supply for road- and train operations. In 1962, RWE already employed 15,000 employees and generated a yearly turnover of 2.1 billion Deutsche Mark (DM). One decade later, in 1972, RWE counted 56,600 employees and generated a yearly turnover of 6.8 billion DM.

In 2000, RWE merged with its competitor “Vereinigte Elektrizitätswerke Westfalen” (VEW). In 2005, RWE sold its water supply companies Thames Water in Great Britain and American Water in North America. During the last years, RWE developed from a worldwide operating energy- and water supply company to a rather energy supplying company, particularly focusing on the European market.

Key people

 Dr. Jürgen Großmann, CEO

Dr. Jürgen Großmann serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at RWE AG since October 2007, where he is responsible for group communication, group executive management and compliance. Before starting his career at Klöckner-Werke AG Group in Duisburg Germany, he studied Business Administration in Göttingen, Freiburg and Purdue (USA) and completed his doctorate at the Technical University of Berlin.

 Dr. Rolf Pohlig, CFO & Executive VP

Dr. Rolf Pohlig serves as Chief Financial Officer of RWE AG since January 2007 and also holds the position of Executive Vice President. He is responsible for group controlling and organisational efficiency, investor relations, group finance, as well as group accounting and tax. Before joining RWE as CFO in 2007, he served as Executive Vice President Mergers & Acquisitions at E.ON AG.