PORTLAND, OR – Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has named Roger Nielsen as president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DTNA and its affiliate companies Freightliner Trucks, Western Star Trucks, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis Cooperation, and Detroit Diesel Corporation effective April 1.

Nielsen will be succeeding Martin Daum, who as of March 1 became Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses.

“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 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.”

“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,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen has served the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for DTNA’s entire manufacturing network, as well as all levels of operations in quality, supplier management, logistics, and customer application engineering. Nielsen joined DTNA (then Freightliner Corporation) in 1986 as an industrial engineer and has served in various positions with DTNA in the U.S. in addition to Daimler’s Commercial Vehicles Divisions in Germany.