Who was Agustin Escobar, Siemens top executive who died along with wife, 3 children in New York helicopter crash

Agustin Escobar, a prominent Spanish executive at Siemens, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal and their three children, aged 4, 5, and 11 were killed after a helicopter crashed in New York's Hudson River on Thursday. The pilot of the chopper was also killed in the crash.  The family had arrived in New York from Spain just hours before embarking on a sightseeing tour. According to CNN, the crash, which occurred at Pier 40 in the late afternoon, involved a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV helicopter which took off from lower Manhattan, circled the Statue of Liberty, and flew north along the Hudson River toward the George Washington Bridge. It then turned back south before crashing into the river near New Jersey after experiencing a mid-air structural failure..

Who was Agustin Escobar?

Born in Spain, Escobar earned a degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Pontificia Comillas. He later pursued advanced business education, completing an MBA from Universidad de Alcala and an Executive MBA from IE Business School. Starting his career at Siemens in 1998 as Head of Sales and Project Management for Power Automation Systems in Spain, he steadily rose through the ranks to lead major divisions such as Energy Management and Infrastructure & Cities in Latin America.

Escobar was a highly accomplished leader with over 25 years of international experience in the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors. Since December 2022, he had served as the CEO of Siemens Spain and Global CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility. Throughout his career, he held key roles across various regions, including the United States, South America, Spain, and Germany. His leadership contributed significantly to Siemens' success in mobility and transport projects worldwide.

In 2010, Escobar moved to New York to oversee international business development for Siemens North America before relocating to Bogota, Colombia, where he managed over 1,300 employees and multiple factories. Under his leadership in 2016, his division was recognized as Siemens’ best-performing business globally.

He returned to Spain in 2018 and became CEO of Siemens Rail Automation SAU and Siemens Mobility SLU, leading large-scale rail projects with over 1,000 employees. From 2019 to 2024, he oversaw operations for Southwest Europe, managing teams across Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Greece and parts of Africa.