The Daimler AG board a management today announced that 47-year-old Dietmar Exler will take over as President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA and NAFTA effective January 1, 2016. He replaces Steve Canon, who is leaving to become CEO of AMB Group, LLC, which owns the Atlanta Falcons NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons Stadium Company, Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer, the PGA Tour Superstore, and the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch.
Exler comes to the CEO role through the company's financial and marketing channels. Since January 2014, he has been vice president of sales for MBUSA.
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The Austrian-born Exler began his career with the company in 2002, when he joined then DaimlerChrysler Financial as senior manager of program development. He was promoted to vice president of marketing that same year. In 2004, Exler took on the role of vice president of customer services for DaimlerChrysler Financial Services in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In 2005, he moved to Germany to become chief operating officer of Daimler Financial Services Europe and a member of the board at the Mercedes-Benz Bank. He returned to the U.S. in 2010 when he was named vice president for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA.
Exler holds a doctorate in law from Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, and a master of laws from the University of Chicago. He currently resides in Brookhaven, Georgia.
Cannon has served as President and CEO of MBUSA since January 1, 2012. He will stay on as a consultant until January 31, 2016, and thereafter will continue to work with Mercedes-Benz, albeit tangentially. In August, it was announced that the Falcons' new stadium, due to be complete in 2017, will be called Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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