Daimler AG’s supervisory board announced Feb. 27 it has appointed Martin Daum, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and a member of the board of management, to lead Daimler Trucks and Buses for five years, beginning March 1. Daum succeeds Wolfgang Bernhard, who said he is leaving the company of his own volition and for personal reasons.
“With Martin Daum, we are appointing a very successful and experienced executive to the board of management as head of the Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses divisions,” stated Manfred Bischoff, chairman of the supervisory board of Daimler AG. “He looks back on 20 years of experience in the industry and knows the cyclical commercial-vehicle business from all perspectives. We are convinced that he will successfully meet the upcoming challenges in the next years, continue along the successful path of Daimler Trucks & Buses and further strengthen their worldwide leading positions.”
“With Martin Daum and his international management experience, the right course is being set at the top of Daimler Trucks & Buses for the long term,” stated Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “The important commercial-vehicle business in the US and in the NAFTA region has developed very successfully under the leadership of Martin Daum and is of key importance to the Daimler Group.”
Since June 2009, Daum has been president and CEO of DTNA and its affiliated companies Freightliner Trucks, Western Star Trucks, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation and Detroit Diesel Corporation. Before that, he was a member of the management of Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe as vice president production Mercedes-Benz Trucks, and at the same time was responsible for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Wörth. Daum started his career in the trainee executive group of the Daimler-Benz AG in 1987.
