Klaus Kleinfeld yesterday was named president and chief executive officer of Alcoa. Mr. Kleinfeld, 50, succeeds Alain Belda, who will continue as chairman of the board.

Mr. Kleinfeld was named president and chief operating officer of Alcoa in August, and has been a director of the aluminum producer since 2003.

Prior to joining Alcoa, Mr. Kleinfeld was president and chief executive officer of Siemens AG, the electronics and industrial giant. His 20-year stint at Siemens also included the position of president and CEO at Siemens Corp., the U.S. unit of the parent corporation.

Of Mr. Kleinfeld's appointment as Alcoa CEO, Mr. Belda said, "Our election of him to the position of CEO reflects our confidence in him as a truly global leader, capable of continuing to capture the growth opportunities ahead."

Mr. Kleinfeld earned a master's degree in business administration/economics from the University of Goettingen in 1982 and a doctorate in strategic management from the University of Wuerzburg.

Mr. Kleinfeld is on the board of directors of Bayer AG and is a director of various international and industry groups.

Mr. Belda, 64, became CEO of Alcoa on May 6, 1999, succeeding Paul O'Neill. In May 2000 Mr. Belda succeeded Mr. O'Neill as chairman.

Born in Morocco and educated in Canada and Brazil, Mr. Belda spent his latest years at Alcoa restructuring the company to focus on mining and aluminum production after metal prices surged. Competition from emerging market producers, including Russia's United Co. Rusal, spurred him to make a hostile bid for smaller Canadian rival Alcan.

The failed Alcan bid damaged Mr. Belda's credibility with some investors and analysts who already blamed him for not boosting the company's stock price enough during a five-year commodities boom.

Mr. Belda withdrew the hostile bid after Alcan announced a friendly $38 billion offer from Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company. Some investors have speculated Alcoa is a takeover target for BHP Billiton Ltd.