Roger Nielsen to retire as Daimler Trucks NA CEO

Daimler Trucks NA CEO Roger Nielsen is retiring after 35 years with the company.

Roger Nielsen will retire from Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) after 35 years with the company—the last four years as its president/CEO, the company announced. Nielsen held various positions with DTNA, including COO, Western Star Trucks general manager, senior vice president of manufacturing, and director of global production planning.

Nielsen’s many accomplishments include leading the development of the company’s first CO₂-neutral trucks, the Freightliner eCascadia and eM2, to be built in its first CO₂-neutral vehicle manufacturing plant near its LEED Platinum headquarters in Portland, Ore.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Roger Nielsen for his dedication to the success of DTNA and his successful positioning of our brands Freightliner, Western Star, and Thomas Built Buses,” said Martin Daum, president/CEO of Daimler Truck AG and member of the board of management Daimer AG.

DTNA CFO John O’Leary is slated to succeed him as the next president/CEO of DTNA with its brands Freightliner Trucks, Western Star Trucks, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., and Detroit Diesel Corp.

The transition, scheduled to be effective April 1, 2021, coincides with Daimler AG’s reorganization. Daimler has announced plans to split itself into two independent companies by spinning off its truck and bus division as Daimler Truck and eventually renaming Daimler as Mercedes-Benz, the brand name under which it sells luxury cars.

"In addition to his longtime experience in the North American truck business, John O’Leary, in his time as chief finance officer of DTNA, has proven that his experience and knowledge make him just the right person to successfully lead DTNA into the future," Daum said.

John O'Leary will succeed Roger Nielsen as Daimler Trucks NA CEO and president as of April 1, 2021.