Member of the Managing Board (CEO Digital Industries), Siemens
Panel Siemens
“Instead of being afraid of China, we should compete with China,” Cedrik Neike, Member of
the Managing Board, Siemens AG ...
About Cedrik Neike
Cedrik Neike, Member of the Managing Board and CEO of Digital Industries at Siemens, participated in a panel discussion on April 1, 2026, with leaders from Pringles to discuss digital transformation in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Neike described CPG as a large, largely unconsolidated industry worth between 2.5 and 3 trillion dollars, and said it carries "enormous responsibility" because many people depend on it. He stated that "great taste does not need to produce great waste" and advocated for collaboration to produce goods "faster, better, more efficiently, and more sustainably." During the discussion, Neike outlined Siemens' approach to building the "Industrial Metaverse" use case by use case, describing a cycle of collecting machine data, using AI to interpret it, sharing learnings with R&D and manufacturing, and acting on those insights to change formulations and improve machines. He said the objective is to create an "infinite cycle of learning and innovation" and noted that the challenge is how quickly that cycle can be established and strengthened with future use cases.
Transcript (54 segments)
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Host0:00
Now for our third speaker. Don't worry, I'm not going to make that joke again. Cedric. Um, Cedric Nika of Seammen's Digital Industries. Hi there. Hi. Very welcome. Um, you Oops, there we go. It's just for safety reasons that we have these, but it might be more dangerous than anything else. Um, you are you learned business and business engineering I believe. Um, and you went to Zmens for a short time and then you changed to a very famous American company called Cisco. Um, you were there for something like 16 years or so and then you came back to good old Germany um to join Zmans again. Why on earth did you do that?
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Cedrik Neike0:54
If you have two minutes, I'll give you the story. I mean, the first
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Host0:56
I have them and I'm sure they have too. So,
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Cedrik Neike1:01
I came to Seammens to become more German and I'll tell you the story later on because I'm actually half French, half German. I grew up in a French military environment and my father found me way too French. I said, 'How do you become more German?' There are three choices. You join the state, you join the church or you join Seammens. So I joined Seammens to speak
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Host1:23
the less evil
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Cedrik Neike1:25
I went as an apprentice and I really enjoyed it. I went studying etc. And actually Seammens in that time is a representation of what's happening to Germany also. We were number one or two or three in the telecommunication sector. The CTO of Seammens put his arm around me. I was 28 and said, 'Look, this internet we've done for 100 years voice before the Americans will put voice over the internet a 100 years will go right.' And I left because the telecommunication sector was not looking at the changes coming.
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Host1:56
Well I'm just computing which CEO it was.
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Cedrik Neike1:59
I'm not going to share that. You can calculate.
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Host2:01
You can do your own calculations. You can do the CTO.
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Cedrik Neike2:06
Was the CTO putting his arm around me. The reality is Seammens had the biggest telecommunication business in 2000, six years later sold to Nokia and BenQ. I left, was super happy at Cisco. My wife is very German, she wanted to come back. I wanted to join a medium-sized company. Then I was asked to return to Seammens. I said no. Met CEO Joe Queser who needed someone who saw Seammens inside and outside to lead a dramatic reorganization. Did I intend to come back? No. Enjoyed it? Yes. Tough work? Yes.
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Host3:04
Yes. Uh you are on the board, but your unit is digital industries. Can you tell us about what digital industries does and doesn't do?
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Cedrik Neike3:17
Digital industries: 70,000 people, 20 billion. Two thirds is automation, a third of all factory brains worldwide come from Semens. Another third is software; we are one of the three biggest industrial software organizations. We help design, test, and produce products, even microchips.
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Host3:59
People say Germany could still be an AI leader in industrial AI. Could we?
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Cedrik Neike4:17
The US leads in consumer, Europe leads in industrial software. 80 to 90% of industrial data is unused. If we use it for AI, we have a chance. If too slow, we miss it.
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Host4:55
Is that private or government?
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Cedrik Neike5:02
I'm not a fan of government solving problems. Large companies and middle market must do it. Government can support, but regulation is holding us back.
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Host5:32
So the state holds us back?
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Cedrik Neike5:36
Partly. Yes.
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Host5:38
Is it also the mindset in German industry?
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Cedrik Neike5:44
50% of hidden champions are European, mostly in Germany. They have amazing capabilities but are scared. We need a data alliance to share data and build joint models. The 'not invented here' syndrome is not scalable.
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Host6:35
So you're building a big platform with other companies? Is that the way?
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Cedrik Neike6:49
No. Building a platform first often fails. You build an application, then a platform. Google started with search. We need data exchange and a problem to solve first.
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Host7:15
I talked to a founder who had to go to San Diego for laser development because German producers lacked courage. Is there still angst to invest all out?
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Cedrik Neike8:11
Trumpf invested 20 years in high-speed lasers without return. Now every microchip below 5nm uses them. We need to support and replicate that.
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Host8:44
Growth now comes from high technology. Correct?
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Cedrik Neike8:56
Technology drives growth, but technology adoption also drives it. Globalization is dead, but technology can solve issues. Factories are now built where the technology is, not cheapest labor.
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Host9:20
If it's all about tech, why do we spend half a trillion on cement and roads? Shouldn't we spend on AI?
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Cedrik Neike9:48
Infrastructure is crumbling and needs investment. But we also need private capital invested in high-tech. Eric Schmidt said Europe must develop its own AI. Is that the key?
Let me ask everyone: who thinks AI is a hype? Very few. Who thinks adoption is fast enough? The decision on AI will change Germany's success. We need to invest and make mistakes. Seammens will put a billion dollars into AI. We need to focus on industrial AI, not copy LLMs.
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Host11:06
That was a cheap one. Come on.
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Cedrik Neike11:07
But the reality is people are scared. I ask how much they invest, it's little. We need to invest and work with others. Zmedat Zmens has restructured, health and energy are separate. What's the new narrative?
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Host12:03
Zmedat Zmens has adjusted and restructured. The newest selloff concerns health and ears. What is your new narrative?
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Cedrik Neike12:21
We don't do washing machines, phones, nuclear power plants, light bulbs. We need to be a tech conglomerate that puts the physical world into the digital world. We want to be the tech company for infrastructure and industry.
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Host13:10
News before Davos: an acquisition in France, partnership with Nvidia, an award for an AFI factory. Are you turning into the platform for world industry?
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Cedrik Neike13:42
We want to be an enabler. I worked in Silicon Valley, concept of eating your own dog food. We're applying technology in our own factory, investing half a billion in Alangan, showing 2,000 customers. We don't believe in building a platform first.
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Host14:39
You're in Bavaria now, drinking your own beer. Your digital business aims to grow 15% per year. Does that hold for Germany?
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Cedrik Neike14:58
Overall yes. Germany is not moving as fast as China, US, India. Germans are risk-averse and do many pilots. They need to change the fabric and put digital first.
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Host15:51
So it's a cultural change. Do you have a fast way?
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Cedrik Neike15:58
You have to do it yourself. Show it works. Find like-minded people. Change is painful but necessary. Productivity gains from digitalization are real. In our factories, we got 7-10% per year. You have to show it.
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Host17:15
You also need the right people with skills.
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Cedrik Neike17:21
Talent is the biggest issue. Four of five companies in Europe can't find the right talent. 50% of AI experts are Chinese. We need as many bright people as possible.
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Host18:02
We can all be behind that. Also need to educate differently.
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Cedrik Neike18:10
Our factories have the same number of people despite robotization and AI. We gave a co-pilot to night shifts, people liked it after six weeks. We need to use AI to educate and upskill in a shrinking workforce.
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Host19:06
Biggest weakness is risk aversion. What's the biggest strength?
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Cedrik Neike19:18
Germans are super conservative engineers. Once they commit, they perfect things. Like Porsche: put the engine in the wrong place and spend a hundred years perfecting it. Engineering prowess is a huge advantage, but we need more optimism and aggressivity.
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Host20:19
That mode was great for the industrial age but maybe not for now.
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Cedrik Neike20:28
Jensen said German engineers are mechanical, perfect. Software is imperfect and needs a different mindset.
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Host20:38
As we know from some software companies.
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Cedrik Neike20:41
But software always evolves. It needs a different mindset, especially when working with hardware.
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Host20:52
We need to be quick. You mentioned China. How do we grab part of the industrial digitization market?
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Cedrik Neike21:02
China has the most advanced factories and more AI engineers than any other country. We must compete in China, not cut them out. We put engineering there to learn China speed and bring it back. We should not repeat the US mistake with Japan in the 80s.
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Host22:00
With all these uncertainties, what's your secret personal weapon?
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Cedrik Neike22:20
I swim 2 kilometers every morning. It's the only time without disruption, my meditation. In all the noise, I find time to remember what this is really about.
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Host22:58
In my hotel I still go for yoga. May promise more success. Thank you for the encouraging and critical words. Thank you for being here.