Rolls-Royce Power Systems Names ABB Exec As COO

Rolls-Royce Power Systems said it is appointing Otto Preiss as chief operating officer (COO) and is adding him to its management board effective May 1.

Preiss spent 30 years at power and automation specialist ABB. Most recently he was Group senior vice president, acting in the role of chief operating officer Digital, and prior to that headed up ABB’s global Motors and Generators division. Other global ABB businesses for which Preiss has assumed responsibility include corporate R&D into Power Technologies and the Swiss Corporate Research Center.

After graduating in electrical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Preiss went on to achieve a Master’s degree in computer science at the University of Colorado, following which he earned his doctorate at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.

“The new corporate position we have created will enable us to drive the transformation of our business in an even more focused way,” said Axel Arendt, chairman of the supervisory board at Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “With his electrical engineering and IT expertise, and as a highly experienced international executive, Otto Preiss is ideally equipped for the task.”