Sabine Kohleisen, board member for Human Relations (HR) and Labour Director, has asked the Supervisory Board of Mercedes-Benz Group AG not to extend her contract, which expires at the end of November 2025. In the interest of the company and to accelerate the rejuvenation of the Board, she will step down from her mandate on April 30, 2025. As a key architect of personnel change and the profound transformation and digitalisation of the HR department, Sabine Kohleisen, together with her team, has set the course for Mercedes-Benz to be one of the most attractive employers in Germany.
The successor to Sabine Kohleisen will be Britta Seeger, currently board member for Marketing & Sales, starting on May 1, 2025. Over the past years, Britta Seeger has made crucial strategic decisions for global sales. Under her leadership, the digitalisation of sales channels has been significantly advanced, our brand has been rejuvenated and realigned, and customer orientation has been consistently expanded. Britta Seeger will hand over sales responsibilities and start her induction into the role of board member for HR and Labour Director on March 1, 2025.
Mathias Geisen, currently Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, has shaped the van division into an extremely successful business unit in recent years, whilst using his entrepreneurial skills to drive the future van portfolio. He will be appointed to the Board of Management on February 1, 2025, and will take over the leadership of the Marketing & Sales board division on March 1, 2025.
"In her clear, strategic and always approachable manner, Sabine Kohleisen has led the employees and the HR division of Mercedes-Benz through the spin-off of the truck division and into the future. For all of us on the Board of Management, Sabine has been a highly valued confidante and professional partner during these challenging years. I thank Sabine for over 34 years at Mercedes-Benz and wish her all the very best for her future! At the same time, I thank Britta Seeger for eight very successful years in leading our Marketing & Sales division. Whether in the reorganisation of sales, the digitalisation of sales processes, or the positioning of our brand, Britta has consistently transformed her area, made it fit for the future, and always thought first and foremost of our customers’ needs. I am very much looking forward to continuing to work closely with Britta in the future."
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG
China remains the most important market for Mercedes-Benz. During a phase in which the company is further expanding its collaboration with local partners and technology leaders, Hubertus Troska, currently the board member for Greater China with planned retirement in 2025, has decided to take on a new role as Board Member and General Authorised Representative of Mercedes-Benz Group AG for China starting on February 1, 2025. In this role, he will fully dedicate himself to the complex transformation of the business system, as well as a smooth and successful transition to his successor in the company’s highest-volume market until his retirement on July 31, 2025.
Oliver Thöne, currently head of Product Strategy and Steering, will succeed Hubertus Troska starting on February 1, 2025. Oliver Thöne currently holds one of the most important key positions in vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz Cars. Under his leadership, the course for the future product portfolio of the entire Mercedes-Benz Group up to the 2030s was successfully set.
"After a unique career, Hubertus Troska, one of the most experienced European managers in China, is leaving our company. Mercedes-Benz owes him and his diligent leadership for the market success in China over the last decade. With the appointment of Oliver Thöne, we are further rejuvenating and strengthening our Board of Management. Oliver Thöne is distinguished by his strategic foresight, the clarity of his analyses, and his exceptional understanding of our highly complex business system. The Supervisory Board is very much looking forward to future collaboration with him."
Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Mercedes-Benz Group AG
"Hubertus Troska symbolises the overwhelming success of Mercedes-Benz in China. During his twelve-year responsibility for the Chinese market, he has more than tripled sales in the country, massively expanded the local production network and development capacities, and created an extremely capable team in China. With exceptional cultural sensitivity and the greatest diplomatic skill, he was the ambassador of Mercedes-Benz in China and a highly valued partner of our local joint ventures. I am very pleased that Hubertus will remain with us and bring his expertise for several more months as Board Member and General Authorized Representative for China, and I sincerely thank him for over 36 very successful years in various positions at Mercedes-Benz."
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG
After nearly ten years of successful board membership, Renata Jungo Brüngger will leave the company at her own request on October 31, 2025, shortly before her contract expires. With her consistent and visionary leadership, she has further developed and restructured the governance approach at Mercedes-Benz and played a significant role in systematically embedding sustainability into the corporate strategy. Together with her team, she has firmly established a compliance system that is anchored and valued throughout the company.
Renata Jungo Brüngger’s successor will be Olaf Schick, starting on October 1, 2025. Olaf Schick is currently member of the Board of Management of Continental AG, responsible for Finance, Controlling, Integrity, and Law. Before his time at Continental, Olaf Schick was already successful in various roles at Mercedes-Benz for many years, including as Head of Finance & Controlling Greater China and Head of the Compliance department.
"With Renata Jungo Brüngger, a skilled, visionary and assertive lawyer with high resilience and a consistent working style is leaving our company. The Supervisory Board expresses its heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Renata Jungo Brüngger for her contributions to the company during very challenging times. At the same time, the Supervisory Board and I are very pleased that Olaf Schick is returning to Mercedes-Benz and will take over Renata Jungo Brüngger’s responsibilities on the Board. With his extensive experience both at Mercedes-Benz and in another DAX company, he is the perfect fit for the important Integrity, Governance, and Sustainability board division."
Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Mercedes-Benz Group AG
"Renata Jungo Brüngger has shaped our company for nearly ten years as board member. With her extensive experience, she is a mainstay who, together with her team, has provided guidance to many colleagues in the most challenging situations. Her clear, analytical perspective and her extremely consistent advocacy for sustainability and good corporate governance have also influenced our work for the future. I wish Renata all the very best."
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG
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Forward-looking statements
This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The words "anticipate", "assume", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "can", "could", "plan", "project", "should" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including an adverse development of global economic conditions, in particular a negative change in market conditions in our most important markets; a deterioration of our refinancing possibilities on the credit and financial markets; events of force majeure including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political unrest, armed conflicts, industrial accidents and their effects on our sales, purchasing, production or financial services activities; changes in currency exchange rates, customs and foreign trade provisions; changes in laws, regulations and government policies (or changes in their interpretation), particularly those relating to vehicle emissions, fuel economy and safety or to ESG reporting (environmental, social or governance topics); price increases for fuel, raw materials or energy; disruption of production due to shortages of materials or energy, labour strikes or supplier insolvencies; a shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, lower-margin vehicles; a limited demand for all-electric vehicles; a possible lack of acceptance of our products or services which limits our ability to achieve prices and adequately utilize our production capacities; a decline in resale prices of used vehicles; the effective implementation of cost-reduction and efficiency-optimization measures; the business outlook for companies in which we hold a significant equity interest; the successful implementation of strategic cooperations and joint ventures; the resolution of pending governmental investigations or of investigations requested by governments and the outcome of pending or threatened future legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties, some of which are described under the heading "Risk and Opportunity Report" in the current Annual Report or in the current Interim Report. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes or if the assumptions underlying any of our forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those we express or imply by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication.
Mercedes-Benz Group at a glance
Mercedes-Benz Group AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With Mercedes-Benz AG, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of high-end passenger cars and premium vans. Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG specialises in financial and mobility services. The products range from financing, leasing, vehicle subscription, rental and fleet management to insurance, innovative mobility services, digital payment solutions as well as products and services around charging. The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Mercedes-Benz sees shaping the future of mobility in a safe and sustainable way as both a motivation and obligation. The company's focus therefore remains on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that both captivate and inspire. Mercedes-Benz continues to invest systematically in the development of efficient powertrains and sets the course for an all-electric future. Mercedes-Benz is consistently implementing its strategy to transform itself toward a fully electric and software-driven future. The company's efforts are also focused on the intelligent connectivity of its vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts as Mercedes-Benz regards it as its aspiration and obligation to live up to its responsibility to society and the environment. Mercedes-Benz sells its vehicles and services in nearly every country of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, the world's most valuable luxury automotive brand (source: Interbrand study, 10 Oct. 2024), Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach as well as the brands of Mercedes-Benz Mobility: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Athlon. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol MBG). In 2023, the Group had a workforce of around 166,000 and sold around 2.5 million vehicles. Group revenues amounted to €153.2 billion and Group EBIT to €19.7 billion.
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Contacts
Willem Spelten, +49 (0)151 58624395, willem.spelten@mercedes-benz.com
Johannes Leifert, +49 (0)176 30904735, johannes.leifert@mercedes-benz.com
Andrea Berg, +1 917 667 2391, andrea.a.berg@mercedes-benz.com
