Martin Daum

Business leader

Born in 1959, I earned a Master’s Degree in Economic Studies at the University of Mannheim in Germany and started working as Management Consultant. My career with Daimler began in 1987. After serving in several management positions in Germany and in the United States I was appointed President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). DTNA, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is well known for its Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses brands. In March 2017 I became Head of Daimler Trucks and Buses and a Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. In November 2019, as our new Daimler Truck AG was formed, I took over the role of Chairman of the Board of Management.

Making CO2-neutral transport work. All stakeholders must be aware that it takes three factors for CO2-neutral transport to be successful. The right vehicle technology based on battery and hydrogen-powered fuel cells is just one factor. We need two more: a comprehensive infrastructure and economic competitiveness. Transport companies must be able to easily charge CO2-neutral vehicles and to earn money with them. It’s much like a multiplication problem: If just one of the three factors is zero, the whole result is zero. To provide factor one – reliable CO2-neutral vehicles – is the task of OEMs like us. To provide factor two – a comprehensive infrastructure – is mainly up to energy companies. However, given the size of this task additional support by the government (conceptually and financially) is required. Factor three – economic competitiveness – clearly needs to be taken care of by the government: A CO2-based toll as well as predictable increases in CO2 taxes on diesel fuel are necessary to offset the significant cost disadvantage of CO2-neutral trucks. All in all it’s obvious that only by working together can we make CO2-neutral transport a success. That’s why it’s so important to us at Daimler Trucks & Buses – and to me personally – to foster the requisite collaboration.

We must fight climate change and move toward a CO2-neutral economy. At the same time, we must be aware that this comes with a price tag: CO2-neutral transport, for example, will be more expensive than today’s transport and we need to discuss how to share the cost as a society.

Customer focus, Global teamwork, Transformation of transportation

I’m passionate about making CO2-neutral transport work for our economy, society and planet. Please see above.