Daimler names R&D head as next CEO
Daimler has named research chief Ola Källenius as its next CEO in a succession plan that promotes a raft of tech-savvy managers at its Mercedes-Benz car brand and also seeks to install long-serving CEO Dieter Zetsche as chairman, writes the news agency Reuters. “The elevation of Källenius, a Swede who often wears jeans and sneakers and attends tech conferences, marks the first time the 132-year-old Stuttgart-based inventor of the modern automobile will be headed by a non-German CEO without an educational background rooted in mechanical engineering,” writes Reuters. In a press release, Daimler said Källenius would become CEO in 2019 and Zetsche would – if shareholders approve – become chairman of the supervisory board in 2021, following a standard two-year cooling off period.
Find the Reuters article in English and the Daimler press release in English .
For background, read the 91tv dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers and the factsheet Reluctant Daimler plans “radical” push into new mobility world.