Siemens has turned to an outsider in its search for a new chief executive, naming top US healthcare industry executive Peter Loescher, 49, head of global human health at Merck since April 2006.

Loescher, who replaces outgoing CEO and president Klaus Kleinfeld will step down on 30 June to pave the way for Loescher to assume charge on 1 July, Siemens said in a statement.

The statement says Loescher gained management experience at General Electric, where he headed the GE healthcare biosciences division as well as at Amersham, Aventis Pharma and Hoechst,.

Siemens is said to have preferred an external candidate to ensure a new chief executive would not be drawn into ongoing investigations into bribery allegations, though Kleinfeld himself is not accused of corruption in the investigations.

Siemens has been facing investigations by German and US authorities in several separate cases of suspected bribery involving hundreds of millions of euros.