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 here and the Daimler press release in English here.

For background, read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers and the factsheet Reluctant Daimler plans “radical” push into new mobility world.