Η Daimler προωθεί τον επικεφαλής της AMG σε επικεφαλής sales και marketing

Σε μία κίνηση που δεν αιφνιδίασε κανέναν καθώς λίγο ή πολύ ήταν αναμενόμενη, η Daimler προώθησε τον επικεφαλής του AMG τμήματος της, Ola Kaellenius, σε επικεφαλής πωλήσεων και marketing. To 44χρονο στέλεχος, θα αντικαταστήσει τον Joachin Schmidt που μετά από 34 χρόνια στην εταιρία, ήρθε η ώρα να αποσυρθεί.

Ο Schmidt, που γίνεται 65 ετών σε μερικές

ημέρες, ήταν επικεφαλής πωλήσεων και marketing από το 2009. Ήρθε για πρώτη φορά στην Daimler-Benz το 1979, δουλεύοντας αρχικά στην ανάπτυξη επιβατικών οχημάτων και μετά από αυτό, 20 χρόνια σε διάφορες θέσεις στις πωλήσεις και το marketing.

Ο Kaellenius από την άλλη, ήρθε στην Daimler το 1993 και μέχρι τον Απρίλιο του 2010 ήταν manager στο εργοστάσιο της Mercedes στην Αλαμπάμα. Από το 2010 και έπειτα, διετέλεσε επικεφαλής της AMG.

Με τον Ola Kaellenius έχουμε κάποιον με αυτοκίνητα στο αίμα του να παίρνει τα ηνία,

Είπε ο CEO της Daimler, Dieter Zetsche, ενώ παράλληλα έπλεξε και το εγκώμιο του απερχόμενου Schmidt λέγοντας πως ο ρόλος του στην διείσδυση της Daimler σε αναπτυσσόμενες αγορές ήταν πάρα πολύ μεγάλος και πως όσο ήταν επικεφαλής πωλήσεων και marketing, η φίρμα έκανε άλματα στην ποιότητα και την ικανοποίηση των πελατών. Είχε επίσης κεντρικό ρόλο στην προσπάθεια της εταιρίας να στοχεύσει νέους –ηλικιακά αλλά και στην εταιρία- πελάτες.

Ο ρόλος του Kaellenius είναι αρκετά δύσκολος καθώς θα πρέπει να βρει τρόπο να φτάσει και φυσικά να περάσει του αντιπάλους της Daimler –BMW και Audi- σε εξαιρετικά σημαντικές αγορές όπως η Κίνα αλλά και γενικότερα. Η Mercedes είδε την ψαλίδα με την BMW να ανοίγει στα 200.000 αυτοκίνητα το 2012 ενώ και η Audi προσπέρασε την Merc το 2011 και πέρυσι πούλησε 100.000 αυτοκίνητα περισσότερα.

Το άτομο που θα πάρει την θέση του Kaellenius ως επικεφαλής της AMG δεν έχει ανακοινωθεί ακόμα.

[Πηγή: Daimler]

Δελτίο Τύπου

Joachim Schmidt retires after more than 30 years’ service – AMG chief Ola Källenius to take over as head of Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales

After more than 34 years of service, and having reached his 65th birthday, Dr Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing and part of the management team at Mercedes-Benz Cars, has decided to hand over his responsibilities to a younger pair of hands. The transfer will formally take place on 1 October 2013. The Daimler Board of Management has named Ola Källenius, currently head of AMG, as his successor. Dr Schmidt will remain available until the end of 2013 to support Mr Källenius in settling into his new role and to offer any advice and assistance.

For over 20 years, Dr Schmidt has served in various sales and marketing management roles and, since October 2009, has been a member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars with responsibility for sales and marketing. In this role, he is also responsible for managing the worldwide national companies and the Executive Committee Sales & Marketing, which comprises the passenger car, van and truck lines.

The Board of Management would like to thank Dr Schmidt for his many years of successful service. Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said “Joachim Schmidt understands and embodies Mercedes-Benz like almost no-one else. Under his leadership, the brand has conquered many new regions and delighted its customers with its traditional strengths. He has reconfigured Sales and Marketing and laid the groundwork for bringing Mercedes-Benz into a new era.”

Under Dr Schmidt’s watch, the Mercedes-Benz brand has tapped into important new growth regions and made huge progress in quality and customer satisfaction. He played a central role in the greatest strategic product initiative in the company’s history and helped open up Mercedes-Benz to new, younger target groups. With the initiative “Best Customer Experience” he developed the retail of the future and laid the foundations in sales and marketing for the Mercedes-Benz 2020 growth strategy.

Joachim Schmidt was born on 7 September 1948 in Sindelfingen. He studied mathematics at the University of Stuttgart, obtaining his science doctorate there in 1976. In 1979, he joined what was then known as Daimler-Benz, working initially in passenger car development and then for over 20 years in various sales and marketing management positions.

Ola Källenius as Dr Schmidt’s successor has comprehensive knowledge of the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio and the Daimler sales structures, not least thanks to his role as Chairman of the Management Board of Mercedes-AMG. “With Ola Källenius we have someone with cars in his blood taking over the reins,” said Dr Zetsche. “He knows what makes a brand a success and has in depth knowledge of our customers and our organisation. We have him to thank for the fact that in recent years AMG has achieved double-digit growth rates and has significantly increased its market leadership in many markets. I am happy he has accepted this position.”

Ola Källenius (44) has been Chairman of the Management Board of Mercedes-AMG since 1 April 2010. Before that, he was plant manager at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Tuscaloosa (USA), led Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth, UK, and worked at McLaren Automotive. Previous roles at Daimler in Stuttgart include head of the Powertrain Procurement unit. Born in Sweden, he began his career on the International Management Associate Program in 1993, at what was then Daimler-Benz. He is a graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of St. Gallen. A successor to Mr Källenius as Chairman of the Management Board of Mercedes-AMG will be appointed and announced shortly.