RE: Financial Times30 May 2020 11:24
Part2
Under his tenure as chief executive, AMG rose from a niche engine tuner to a widely-known sub-brand of Mercedes, with units topping 130,000 last year. It is thought to contribute a fat portion to the annual profits of Daimler, the owner of Mercedes.
His drive and the AMG record placed him “head and shoulders” above the other two candidates considered for the role, according to two people familiar with the selection process.
But as with the high-powered sports car engines he has spent two decades building, performance is often twinned with aggression.
“He won’t mind being the guy who thumps the table and comes across as the angry German,” said a compatriot colleague who knows him well.
Born in Freiburg, Germany, in 1966, his muscular build means he is more likely to be mistaken for “a farmer” than a chief executive of a London-listed company.
He is also someone for whom the term “petrol head” was invented.
We know that his expertise will be of great value to Aston Martin
Ola Kallenius, Daimler chief executive
Growing up, he spent bitter winters in the Black Forest honing his driving skills to make his first car — a rear-wheel-drive Opel Kadett — travel sideways around frozen bends.
Even in an industry dominated by company lifers, Mr Moers’ quarter-century service within one division is unusual.
After studying mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Offenburg, he worked on an electric car in a project funded by chocolate company Ritter Sport, before joining AMG in 1994.
He rose through the ranks, becoming chief executive and chief technical officer in 2013, which widened his expertise beyond engineering to marketing, branding and design.
“If you underestimate him, you will pay the price,” said one person who has worked with him in the past.
While at AMG, Mr Moers was also “intimately involved” with Aston, which buys engines and some technology from the German group.
His move is expected to bring the companies closer, easing Aston’s development costs as it delves more deeply into Daimler’s copious parts bin.
“We know that his expertise will be of great value to Aston Martin, a company with which we have a longstanding and successful partnership,” said Daimler chief executive Ola Kallenius, who himself led AMG before Mr Moers.
Big questions remain, including how Mr Moers will win back the market’s confidence, and how well he will gel with his new billionaire boss.
Both men are used to getting their own way, so relations will be harmonious as long as the two are steering in the same direction.
When the paths differ, the results have the potential to be volcanic.
“If there is a clash, it won’t last for very long,” said a longtime associate of Mr Stroll. “Tobias will find himself heading back to the Black Forest.”
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