Bodo Uebber, Daimler chief finance officer and board member in charge of financial services, will not seek a reappointment when his term expires in December of next year, the Mercedes-Benz parent said in a statement on Tuesday.
The announcement comes just days after Daimler unveiled a major reshuffling in its governance ranks for 2021, tapping chairman Dieter Zietsche to lead the supervisory board and Ola Källenius to take over the flagship passenger cars division.
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Uebber has been at the top of Daimler’s financial services unit, in its various incarnations, since 2001. A defence engineer by training, he first joined DaimlerChrysler Services as board member and chief financial officer. He rose to the parent company’s board of management in 2003, and also sat on the board of directors of Airbus – then still named EADS – between 2007 and 2014.
Uebber said in a statement: “It was not easy for me. But now is the time for the company to put my tasks also in younger hands.
“The path ahead, with its fundamental changes, requires long-term continuity in corporate management as well.”
By the time Uebber leaves his current position next year, Daimler will be in the midst of a major overhaul of its company structure, plans for which were first unveiled in July. Passenger car and large vehicles manufacturing operations will be brought under dedicated divisions, with the company’s captive finance arm providing a third pillar under the name Daimler Mobility.
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By GlobalDataA number of OEMs have been giving certain business lines more freedom of action by turning them into standalone entities. Volkswagen is preparing an IPO for the newly-renamed Traton truck and bus division, and Fiat Chrysler is looking at a spinoff for parts maker Magneti Marelli.
Daimler’s upcoming overhaul stands out for the spearhead role it assigns to the mobility division, as the carmaker looks beyond its Mercedes-Benz vehicles to introduce services based purely around data aggregation.
Under Uebber’s supervision, the financial services unit has gone to great lengths to build a self-sufficient, multi-pronged ecosystem for mobility services, setting up its own digital wallet service and launching shared rides in Amsterdam, Berlin and London under the Viavan brand.
Daimler is also looking at a mobility services joint venture with rival BMW, which could end up being one of the biggest achievements of Uebber’s career before his departure.
