Wolfgang Bernhard

Mercedes plays Musical Chairs with Senior Executive Appointments

With something so tightly regimented as the management structure of a major German company, when you move one piece, you'll have to move several more just to keep the voids filled.

Iconic luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has announced that one of its senior executives, Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, is being promoted to the company's management board. The position he vacates is as head of the company's van division, which in turn is being handed over to Volker Mornhinweg (pictured above left).

To take the new job, Morhinweg is departing his role as head of the AMG performance division that gives us all those wonderful Autobahn-slayers. Of course that means someone would need to take his place, and Ola Kaellenius (pictured above right) has been tapped for the job at Mercedes-Benz AMG GmbH. Kaellenius has until now been running the company's crossover plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and surely someone will need to be appointed to fill that void as well, but in the meantime Mercedes is deferring the announcement.

Tags: AMG, Bernhard, daimler, daimler ag, Kaellenius, mercedes, Mercedes AMG, mercedes-benz, Mercedes-Benz AMG GmbH, Mornhinweg, Ola Kaellenius, Volker Mornhinweg, Wolfgang Bernhard

Wolfgang Bernhard Returns to Executive Ranks at Mercedes-Benz

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The prodigal son returns. As with the Biblical parable, a well-loved son (ably played in real life by Wolfgang Bernhard) leaves the comfort of home (Bernhard previously served as Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche's second in command) and embarks on a journey away from his family.

Unlike our age-old story, though, Bernhard didn't exactly fall on hard times away from the loving care of this father. In fact, Bernhard served as chairman at Volkswagen between 2005 and 2007 before returning to Daimler in February of 2009 to lead its van business. Not the hero's welcome our Biblical character got when he finally ventured back home – at least not right away.

According to an Automotive News report, Bernhard will now serve as the executive board member responsible for production and procurement for Mercedes-Benz, though the company is reportedly still figuring out what exact role and title Bernhard will command. Rainer Schmueckle, the man who currently holds the spot Bernhard will be inheriting, is in "negotiations" with the automaker.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req'd]

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Tags: Daimler, Daimler AG, DaimlerAg, mercedes, Mercedes Benz, mercedes-benz, MercedesBenz, Wolfgang Bernhard, WolfgangBernhard