It’s come to this – not a car in sight…
Sajjad Khan will leave Mercedes-Benz “at his own request on 1 September 2021 in order to set up a technology venture-capital fund.” Sajjad Khan is currently a member of the divisional Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG. As Chief Technology Officer, he is responsible for development in the areas of connectivity, autonomous, shared & services, and electric, aka CASE.
Magnus Östberg will assume overall responsibility for the MB.OS vehicle operating system as Chief Software Officer on 1 September 2021 – a newly created position that is the result of the unexpected executive shuffle.
Östberg will report both to Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG for Group Research and Chief Operating Officer Mercedes-Benz AG, and directly to the Chairman of the Boards of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, Ola Källenius.
Magnus Östberg, born on 27 April 1973 in Sweden, graduated from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, with a master’s degree in electrical engineering. He started his career in the automotive industry at Mecel, a software and technical consulting company, followed by various management positions at Delphi in Germany and the United States with a focus on vehicle software, infotainment and telematics. Most recently, Östberg was Vice President Software Platform & System at automotive supplier Aptiv in the US and responsible for development and launch of the ADAS Satellite Architecture at multiple automotive manufacturers. Magnus Östberg speaks Swedish, English and German.
“With MB.OS, we made a clear strategic decision for the future of Mercedes-Benz: to apply our own software-platform for our vehicles, for which we are now creating a specific software position to bring together the responsibility for all related development tasks. Magnus Östberg is excellently suited for this job and I am very much looking forward to working with him,” said Ola Källenius. “I wish Sajjad all the best with founding his technology venture capital fund and am pleased that we, as Mercedes-Benz, are able to accompany him in this innovative project as an angel investor,” continued Källenius.
With the newly created electric-only orientation at Mercedes-Benz, research and development activities for the things electric will be brought together in the department of Markus Schäfer. All other tasks of the current CASE organization will be integrated into the corresponding line functions.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Khan, Mercedes Chief Technology Officer, Leaves Prompting Reorganization with Focus on Electric Only
It’s come to this – not a car in sight…
Sajjad Khan will leave Mercedes-Benz “at his own request on 1 September 2021 in order to set up a technology venture-capital fund.” Sajjad Khan is currently a member of the divisional Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG. As Chief Technology Officer, he is responsible for development in the areas of connectivity, autonomous, shared & services, and electric, aka CASE.
Magnus Östberg will assume overall responsibility for the MB.OS vehicle operating system as Chief Software Officer on 1 September 2021 – a newly created position that is the result of the unexpected executive shuffle.
Östberg will report both to Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG for Group Research and Chief Operating Officer Mercedes-Benz AG, and directly to the Chairman of the Boards of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, Ola Källenius.
Magnus Östberg, born on 27 April 1973 in Sweden, graduated from Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, with a master’s degree in electrical engineering. He started his career in the automotive industry at Mecel, a software and technical consulting company, followed by various management positions at Delphi in Germany and the United States with a focus on vehicle software, infotainment and telematics. Most recently, Östberg was Vice President Software Platform & System at automotive supplier Aptiv in the US and responsible for development and launch of the ADAS Satellite Architecture at multiple automotive manufacturers. Magnus Östberg speaks Swedish, English and German.
“With MB.OS, we made a clear strategic decision for the future of Mercedes-Benz: to apply our own software-platform for our vehicles, for which we are now creating a specific software position to bring together the responsibility for all related development tasks. Magnus Östberg is excellently suited for this job and I am very much looking forward to working with him,” said Ola Källenius. “I wish Sajjad all the best with founding his technology venture capital fund and am pleased that we, as Mercedes-Benz, are able to accompany him in this innovative project as an angel investor,” continued Källenius.
With the newly created electric-only orientation at Mercedes-Benz, research and development activities for the things electric will be brought together in the department of Markus Schäfer. All other tasks of the current CASE organization will be integrated into the corresponding line functions.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.