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Johannes Teyssen

b. 1959

German businessman

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About Johannes Teyssen

Born 1959. Johannes Teyssen is a German jurist, manager, entrepreneur, political economist, chief executive officer and chairman.

Johannes Teyssen (born 9 October 1959) is a German economist and lawyer who was the chief executive of E.ON, a German multinational electric utility company, from 2010 to 2021. Since January 2021, he has been a non-executive director of BP plc; since October 2021, a senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; since 2022, chairman of Swiss energy group Alpiq Holding and since May 2026, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG .

Early life Teyssen was born on 9 October 1959 in Hildesheim, Germany. He went on to study economics and law in Freiburg and at the University of Göttingen from where he graduated in 1984. He then went on to pursue doctoral studies in Boston, US, but returned to Germany to finish in 1991, earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. His research included comparative law work on the relationship between the legislative and judicial branches of criminal procedure law.

Career Teyssen's first career role was as a law clerk at the State Superior Court in Celle, Germany. He stayed in that position until he joined PreussenElektra in Hanover in 1989, where most recently he was Head of the Legal Department. In 1994, he earned another promotion, this time as head of legal affairs. In the course of the merger of Hastra and four other energy supply companies to form Avacon, based in Helmstedt,

His tenure was marked by decisions concerning Germany's switch to renewable energy, which he cited as a huge opportunity. In January 2012, he spoke out against the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and in 2013, he questioned the profitability of gas-fired plants.

In August 2010, Teyssen and around 40 other prominent figures signed the Energy Policy Appeal for an extension of the operating lives of German nuclear power plants. In 2017, Teyssen, along with other representatives of the energy industry and Germany's Economics Minister Brigitte Zypries, signed the agreement on financing the nuclear phase-out, which finally settled the dispute over the peaceful use of nuclear energy in Germany.

June 3, 2013 Teyssen was elected President of Eurelectric, the representative body of the European electricity industry.

At the end of 2014, he announced the spin-off of E.ON SE's conventional power generation business and international energy trading to the newly founded Uniper SE, which was successfully listed on the stock exchange in 2016. In March 2018, together with Rolf Martin Schmitz, CEO of RWE AG, he announced the reorganization of the two groups. E.ON acquired the energy infrastructure and sales operations of Innogy SE, becoming Europe's largest energy network company and an energy supplier to about 50 million customers in more than 10 European countries. RWE acquired the renewables businesses of E.ON and Innogy, becoming one of Europe's three largest renewables players. Following approval by the antitrust authorities, the reorganization was completed in March 2020.

Teyssen was Norwegian Honorary Consul General until the end of 2020, responsible for the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

In January 2021 he was appointed as non-executive member of the Board of Directors of BP plc, in October 2021 he became Senior Advisor at KKR, , in the beginning of 2022 he was appointed as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swiss energy group Alpiq Holding. and in May 2026 he was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lufthansa Group. On August, 27, 2026 was published, that he will leave Alpiq in Autumn 2026.

Corporate board memberships Lufthansa, chairman of the supervisory board (since 2026) Alpiq Holding, chairman of the Board of Directors (since 2022) Innogy, chairman of the supervisory board (2019–2020) Salzgitter AG, Member of the supervisory board (2006–2016) In 2015, Teysssen was a member of the search committee to select a new director of the Museum Kunstpalast.

His father, Hans Teyssen, was Vice President of the Higher Regional Court of Celle for many years and most recently Ministerial Director in the Lower Saxony Ministry of Justice; his uncle, Anton Teyssen, was a member of the Christian Demokratic Union of the state parliament for Hildesheim for many years.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of Göttingen
Employers
PreussenElektra, Hastra, Avacon, E.ON

People in Johannes Teyssen's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Johannes Teyssen's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Johannes Teyssen?

German businessman

When was Johannes Teyssen born?

Johannes Teyssen was born on 9 October 1959 in Hildesheim.

What is Johannes Teyssen's occupation?

Johannes Teyssen is a jurist, manager, entrepreneur, political economist, chief executive officer and chairman.

What nationality is Johannes Teyssen?

Johannes Teyssen is German.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Johannes Teyssen

· Wikidata: Q1698484

· DBpedia: Johannes Teyssen

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Johannes Teyssen. https://biography.guide/johannes-teyssen/

MLA: "Johannes Teyssen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/johannes-teyssen/.

Chicago: "Johannes Teyssen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/johannes-teyssen/.

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