The high-profile boss of Siemens UK is to retire at the end of the year after more than three decades at the company.

Juergen Maier CBE, who became chief executive of the company in 2014 having held senior positions in both the UK and Germany at Siemens, will be succeeded by Carl Ennis, who is currently UK and Ireland head of products and systems sales for Siemens Smart Infrastructure.

Mr Ennis – who has worked for Siemens for 20 years in top roles in the UK and China – will take the reins on January 1, 2020.

He replaces, Mr Maier, who has spent 33 years at the company, which has the cutting-edge Siemens Subsea facility in Ulverston, where its 250-strong staff design, manufacture, test and install subsea connector and measurement technology for the oil and gas industry.

During his tenure Mr Maier has overseen significant investments across the UK, including an £80 million wind turbine blade factory in Hull, which created 1,000 jobs, and a £200m train facility in nearby Goole, which will create up to 700 jobs.

He is a past chairman, and still a member of, the North West Business Leadership Team, which brings together companies to promote the region as a place to do business, and lobby for investment, and is also a board member of Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership.

In a blog post titled ‘All good things come to an end’, Mr Maier said his retirement was “purely a matter of life balance”.

“Whilst I have always thrived on the hard work and adrenaline that comes with my job, I also know that the body needs a little rest at times,” he said.

“So, early retirement feels right at this point, to re-charge my energy to then take on some exciting new opportunities to support UK industry.

“I will look back with great pleasure on so much our Siemens UK team has achieved and can be incredibly proud of,” he added.

In the post Mr Maier confirmed that he would continue to serve as chairman of the Digital Catapult – a digital innovation centre – and support the Made Smarter initiative, a £20m programme that supports manufacturing firms to adopt digital technology to help boost productivity.

Cedrik Neike, managing board member at Siemens, praised Mr Maier for his “significant contribution” in the UK and around the world.

“His engagement in the UK manufacturing, engineering and technology arena has supported both Siemens and industry in general,” he said.

“He is a role model as a leader in terms of engaging in our employees and driving the diversity and inclusion agenda, which is close to our hearts. We wish him well with his future endeavours.”

“We look forward to the appointment of Carl, a passionate engineer, who is looking to continue to build on the strong foundations of Siemens in the UK and Ireland.”