Mercedes-Benz USA Makes New Management Appointments

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announced new appointments within its senior management team at its corporate headquarters in Atlanta, GA.

Rory Hepner: General Manager, Strategic Retail Development

Rory Hepner, current general manager of vehicle distribution and logistics, will become general manager of strategic retail development. Hepner will report directly to Dietmar Exler, president and CEO, and will oversee the implementation and compliance of all policies, programs and activities to support MBUSA’s retail direction and objectives. Hepner has been with MBUSA for over 25 years in a variety of management positions, including corporate counsel, field operations and sales operations.

Dianna du Preez: General Manager, Vehicle Distribution and Logistics

Replacing Hepner as general manager of vehicle distribution and logistics will be Dianna du Preez, reporting to Adam Chamberlain, vice president of sales. In this position, du Preez will oversee all retail vehicle distribution, import and logistics, distribution systems allocation and ordering, as well as the company’s vehicle preparation centers in Baltimore, MD, Los Angeles, CA and Brunswick, GA. Most recently, du Preez served as general manager of Mercedes-Benz Academy and has held other management roles within the company including the areas of sales, dealer development, parts logistics and IT.

Heiko Schmidt: General Manager, CASE

Heiko Schmidt, most recently department manager of product management for AMG, will become general manager of CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Service and Electric Drive). Schmidt will report to Christian Treiber, vice president of customer services, and will direct the strategic development, implementation, compliance and execution of CASE-related projects across the organization. Schmidt has been with the company over 18 years in various roles, including product planning, management and volume planning.

Zelma Cilliers: CIO

Zelma Cilliers, currently CIO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, will become CIO of MBUSA effective August 1, replacing Rose Kwon who will assume the role of CIO for the NAFTA region. Cilliers has been with Daimler in a variety of IT roles since 1999, including additional posts in South Africa, Singapore and the UK. She will oversee all operating and IT systems at MBUSA, reporting to Rose Kwon.

Lars Minns: Chief Human Resources Officer

Lars N. Minns, most recently department manager of human resource operations, is now the chief human resources officer for NAFTA (effective May 14, 2018). Minns will report directly to Exler, leading the company in designing, implementing and executing HR strategies in the NAFTA markets.

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