Who Was Agustin Escobar, Siemens Executive Killed In New York Chopper Crash

Agustin Escobar, a top Spanish executive at technology company Siemens, was among six people killed in a helicopter crash on Thursday. His wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children - aged 4, 5, and 11 - also died when their chopper crashed into the Hudson River. The Barcelona-based family was reportedly on a sightseeing trip in New York City.

The pilot, who also died in the crash, has not yet been publicly identified.

The New York City Fire Department received a call at around 3:15 pm reporting that a Bell 306 helicopter plunged into the river along Manhattan. Hours later, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed all six people on board were dead.

Who was Agustin Escobar?

1. Agustin Escobar was the chief executive of Siemens' Spanish division. 
2. He studied Electrical Industrial Engineering at Universidad Pontificia Comillas. In 2002, he completed an MBA from Universidad de Alcala. In 2005, he also did an Executive MBA in Business Administration from IE Business School, as per his LinkedIn account.
3. Mr Escobar worked at Siemens for more than 27 years. He started working at the company in 1998 as Head of Sales and Project Management for Power Automation Systems in Spain. Over the years, he took on bigger roles and led several business units, winning multiple Siemens Country Awards along the way. He also worked on electric car infrastructure projects across Southwest Europe.
4. In 2010, he moved to New York City to handle international business development in North America. After that, he worked in Bogota, Colombia, where he managed over 1,300 employees and three factories. In 2016, his division was named Siemens' best-performing business worldwide.
5. Mr Escobar came back to Spain in 2018 to become CEO of Siemens Rail Automation SAU and Siemens Mobility SLU, where he led major rail projects with over 1,000 employees. From 2019 to 2024, he was also CEO of Siemens Mobility for the Southwest Europe Region, covering Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, and parts of Africa, with a team of more than 3,000.