“Today, thyssenkrupp is a completely different company regarding culture, values and performance. The joint venture of our steel activities with Tata is the next significant step to turn thyssenkrupp into a strong industrial company,” Hiesinger said in a statement. 

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle said Hiesinger’s contract as chief executive doesn’t expire until 2020. 

“In the past few months, (Hiesinger) had drawn mounting criticism from important shareholders, including U.S. hedge fund Elliot and Cevian Capital which had criticized the CEO for dragging his feet on the company's restructuring process,” the broadcaster said. 

Deutsche Welle has more here.