Folker Franz has been appointed head of public affairs for ABB (energy and automation technologies), from 1 September 2012. Based in Brussels, he will be responsible for managing and developing relationships with the EU institutions. He succeeds Georg Brodach, who will retire after 14 years in that position (but will remain active in European circles in a private capacity). Franz most recently served as director for industrial affairs (representing industry on climate, energy, environmental and research issues) at BusinessEurope.