Mercedes-Benz Appoints Korean Exec for a Key Role in US for the First Time

Mercedes-Benz has promoted an executive from its Korean unit to become the customer service chief in its U.S. office. Kim Jee Seop was assigned to the role, and this is the first time that the German luxury vehicle company has ever appointed a Korean executive for a key role at its base in the United States.

Prior to his promotion, Kim worked as the vice president of Mercedes-Benz Korea’s customer service unit. Now, he will be moving to the U.S. to assume his new job post and help with the business operations there.

According to The Korea Economic Daily, becoming the first Korean executive to be promoted to a high-ranking role in one of the company’s major global bases is quite remarkable. It was mentioned that this event also made Kim’s climb on the corporate ladder even more dramatic.

For his new job at the Mercedes-Benz office in the U.S., the newly-appointed customer service chief is expected to supervise both the vehicle maintenance and customer service divisions. He is a veteran of the company as he has been working at Mercedes-Benz Korea since 2002 via the Mercedes-Benz Global Asia Management Associate Program. In 2003, he also worked at the Daimler Australia-Pacific regional headquarters and at the company’s Germany HQ in 2004.

At Mercedes-Benz Korea, Kim Jee Seop was the vice president who was in charge of customer services since 2015. As the leader of this unit, he launched the customer assurance program at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world in March 2020.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz U.S. also announced the appointment of two other key executives, and they are Melody Lee, who was named the new chief marketing officer and Heike Scheuble, who was promoted to managing director post at Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Commenting on the new leadership assignments, Dimitris Psillakis, Mercedes-Benz Cars North America and CEO of MBUSA’s head of marketing and sales, said in a statement, “I am incredibly excited to further strengthen our U.S. executive leadership team with the broad expertise that Melody, Heike and Jee-Seop will bring to Mercedes-Benz USA. With these new appointments, we are poised to accelerate our path to become the most desired luxury electric brand in North America, and reinforce our commitment to our customers and dealer partners.”

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