Mercedes-Benz Korea Appoints Thomas Klein, Middle East CEO, as New President

Thomas Klein, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Middle East

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Mercedes-Benz Korea announced on the 4th that Thomas Klein, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Middle East, is scheduled to be appointed as the new CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea effective January 1, 2021.

New CEO Klein established ties with Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles in D?sseldorf, Germany, through an industry-academia cooperation program while attending university in 1999. From 2003, he participated in Daimler's management talent development program, CAReer, within the German sales organization based in Berlin, and until 2013, he was responsible for overseeing sales and services in the passenger car division in the Mainfranken region of Germany. From 2014 to 2016, he served as Managing Director of the Mercedes-Benz direct sales network passenger car division in South Africa. Between 2017 and 2019, he held a key role managing sales and major projects within the overseas regional organization at Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Germany. Since July 2019, he has been serving as CEO of Mercedes-Benz Middle East.

Mercedes-Benz Korea stated, "New CEO Klein has enhanced Mercedes-Benz's sales and service performance in the Middle East region based on his diverse international experience encompassing sales and marketing. He is also recognized for proactively introducing a new type of showroom concept that heavily incorporates digital elements to strengthen customer experience and successfully introducing future mobility solutions within the region."

New CEO Klein expressed, "I am pleased to be appointed as the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, which continues to grow steadily with the trust and love of its customers. At this time when the global automotive industry is undergoing significant transformation, I will work to further increase brand satisfaction among Korean customers through new and remarkable experiences with Mercedes-Benz."

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Korea had appointed Bj?rn Hauber as CEO in May to succeed former CEO Dimitri Selakis, but his appointment was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until the new CEO's term begins, Vice President Jiseop Kim, who oversees the customer service division, will continue to serve as acting CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea through the end of December this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.