Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Head of Sales and Marketing and a member of the Executive Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, has decided to hand over his task to younger hands on October 34, 65 after more than 1 years of service when he turns 2013. The Board of Management of Daimler AG has named the current AMG boss Ola Källenius as his successor. Dr. Joachim Schmidt will introduce Ola Källenius in his new role until the end of 2013 and will assist him with advice and action.
Dr. Joachim Schmidt has worked in various management positions in sales and marketing for over 20 years and has been a member of the Mercedes-Benz Cars management team since October 2009, responsible for sales and marketing. As part of this function, he is also responsible for managing the global subsidiaries and the Executive Committee Sales & Marketing, which consists of the Passenger Cars, Vans and Trucks divisions.
The board thanks Dr. Joachim Schmidt for his many years of successful work. Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars:
“Joachim Schmidt understands and embodies Mercedes-Benz like no other. Under his leadership, the brand conquered many new regions and delighted its customers with its traditional strengths. He has realigned sales and marketing, thereby setting the course that will bring Mercedes-Benz into a new era. ”
Under Joachim Schmidt's responsibility, the brand with the star opened up important new growth regions and made massive progress in quality and customer satisfaction. Joachim Schmidt was largely responsible for the largest product offensive in the company's history and thus opened Mercedes-Benz to new, younger target groups. With the “Best Customer Experience” initiative, he developed the sales of the future and set the course in sales and marketing for the Mercedes-Benz 2020 growth offensive.
Joachim Schmidt was born on September 7, 1948 in Sindelfingen. He studied mathematics at the University of Stuttgart, where he received a Dr. rer. nat. doctorate. He joined what was then Daimler-Benz AG in 1976, initially working in passenger car development and then for over 1979 years in various management positions in sales and marketing.
Ola Källenius as successor to Dr. Last but not least, Joachim Schmidt has extensive knowledge of the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio and the Daimler sales structure as head of the management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH. Dr. Dieter Zetsche: “With Ola Källenius, a real car guy takes the helm. He knows how to lead a brand to success and knows both our customers and our organization very well. It is largely thanks to him that AMG has seen double-digit growth in recent years and has been able to massively expand its market leadership in many markets. I am pleased that we were able to win him over for this position. ”
Ola Källenius (44) has headed the management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH since April 1, 2010. Before that, Källenius was the plant manager of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa (USA)
Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd. in Brixworth, Great Britain, and worked at McLaren Automotive. At Daimler in Stuttgart, he was previously head of the Powertrain Purchasing department. Born in Sweden, he started his career at what was then Daimler-Benz AG in 1993 in the international junior research group. He graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of St. Gallen. A successor for Ola Källenius as managing director of Mercedes-AMG GmbH will be named and announced soon.
Source: Mercedes-Benz press