Roger Nielsen was appointed president and chief executive officer of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and its affiliated companies Freightliner Trucks, Western Star Trucks, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis and Detroit Diesel effective April 1, 2017.

He succeeds Martin Daum who became member of the board of management of Daimler AG responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses on March 1, 2017.

Since 2001, Nielsen has been chief operating officer responsible for the entire DTNA manufacturing network, as well as all levels of operations in quality, supplier management, logistics and customer application engineering. In addition, he has overseen Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis and DTNA’s continuous improvement programs. In 1986, Nielsen joined DTNA (then Freightliner) as an industrial engineer and since then has held various positions at DTNA in the U.S. and at Daimler’s Commercial Vehicles Divisions in Germany.

“Roger Nielsen brings a rock solid product, manufacturing and sales background to this position paired with a razor-sharp focus on technology, quality and customer service. He has an excellent track record as an influential leader in the industry,” said Martin Daum.

“Having worked closely with Roger for so many years, I am certain that DTNA, its people and all its brands are in the best hands,” Daum added.

“I am honored and proud to head up this great organization that I have been part of for over 30 years. I look forward to building on the outstanding success achieved by the DTNA team under Martin’s leadership. Together, we will continue our dedication to delivering the best products and services to our North American customers,” Nielson said.