DTNA Promotes Nielsen to CEO; Replaces Daum
This story appears in the March 27 print edition of Transport Topics.
Daimler Trucks North America has promoted Roger Nielsen to president and CEO.
The company announced March 22 that Nielsen, who has served as the truck maker’s chief operating officer since 2001, will start his tenure in the new posts April 1.
He will succeed Martin Daum, who was tapped on Feb. 27 to run parent company Daimler AG’s global truck and bus division.
“I am honored and proud to head up this great organization that I have been part of for over 30 years,” Nielsen said in a statement. “I look forward to building on the outstanding success achieved by the DTNA team under Martin’s leadership. Together, we will continue our dedication to delivering the best products and services to our North American customers.”
Daum started in the new post March 1. He had led DTNA since 2009.
“Roger Nielsen brings a rock-solid product, manufacturing and sales background to this position paired with a razor-sharp focus on technology, quality and customer service,” Daum said.
Daimler AG is based in Stuttgart, Germany. DTNA is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
DTNA produces Freightliner and Western Star trucks as well as Thomas Built buses. Its affiliated companies include Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. and Detroit Diesel Corp.
Its market share in Classes 6-8 vehicles for 2017 year-to-date stands at 40.8%, the company said.
As chief operating officer, Nielsen was responsible for the entire DTNA manufacturing network, as well as all levels of operations in quality, supplier management, logistics and customer application engineering. He also has overseen Thomas Built, Freightliner Custom Chassis and DTNA’s continuous improvement programs, the company said.
He joined DTNA in 1986 (then Freightliner Corp.) as an industrial engineer and since then has held various positions at DTNA in the United States and at Daimler’s Commercial Vehicles Divisions in Germany.
Nielsen, 56, is a native of Mount Vernon, Washington, and graduated from Oregon State University. He worked in the aerospace industry before joining DTNA.
His promotion is the latest in a series of executive moves for Daimler.
Daum was lauded for his international management experience. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG, said his promotion sets “the right course at the top of Daimler Trucks & Buses for the long term.”
Daum’s elevation to the global operation followed the departure of Wolfgang Bernhard, his predecessor in the role who unexpectedly stepped down a year before his contract was due to expire.
The company announced Feb. 10 that Bernhard, once seen as a candidate to succeed Zetsche, was leaving at his own request for personal reasons and was released from his duties immediately.
