New bosses take the wheel at SA’s leading truck firms
INDUSTRY NEWS/ Mercedes and Volvo truck operations both have new leaders in the Southern Africa region
Two of the big players in the regional truck market have new leadership. Recently, Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa welcomed Maretha Gerber as the new head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks for Southern Africa.
Gerber has held several leadership positions within Mercedes-Benz SA. With her combination of retail experience within sales and marketing in various roles as well as her leadership skills, the company says it views her as the ideal person to lead the organisation in the region.
After completing a BCom in marketing, Gerber joined the Mercedes-Benz group in 2000 in a key accounts management position. She went on to occupy several other managerial positions in the sales, dealer network strategy and marketing areas. In 2015, she became the dealer principal at MercedesBenz Rosebank.
“Maretha is no stranger to the automotive sector and she has proven that she is invaluable to any team she has been part of. Mercedes-Benz Trucks was looking for someone who displays leadership, is always innovating and who will ensure all our offerings continue to be the best. Maretha ticked all of these boxes, and more,” says Jasper Hafkamp, executive director of Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa.
“I am extremely excited to have been appointed in such a critical position and I know that with such a dynamic team, we are going to ensure MercedesBenz Trucks remain market leaders in the different segments they operate in,” says Gerber.
She will be facing tough competition from the new boss at Volvo Group Southern Africa, in the form of vice-president Marcus Hörberg who took up the position in July.
Hörberg was vice-president of Volvo Peru and Region North for the past five years. He has 20 years of experience in customer finance, business development, strategy and country management for Volvo Group in emerging markets.
He started his career in Volvo Financial Services and worked for 10 years in various positions, while building Volvo Group’s customer finance business in Eastern Europe. For over a decade, Hörberg has been MD and country manager for Volvo Group companies in the Balkans, Morocco and Peru.
“Frequently travelling to, and living in these markets, gave me a deep insight into how small and large corporations fail and succeed in new market economies,” says Hörberg.
“I am passionately driven to create win-win situations for our customers and the society in which we are operating.
“I am a strong believer that value-driven organisations, with a culture of social responsibility, can contribute to our customers’ success and at the same time drive prosperity.”
GE R BER HAS PROVEN INVALUABLE TO ANY TEAM SHE HAS BEEN PART OF. SHE TICKED ALL THE BOXES