Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz in the US, is dismissed

A few hours ago, news broke that Ernst Lieb, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, had been replaced by another executive of the brand. It seems Lieb did not leave on his own initiative, but was flat-out fired.

The German newspaper Handelsblatt has reported that Lieb had committed serious financial irregularities, using company funds for his own benefit. As an example, the same newspaper says Lieb used money from Daimler USA to renovate his home in New York, in addition to making contributions to the private golf club he frequented. It is also said that he offered favours such as Mercedes-Benz vehicle rentals at overly “advantageous” rates in exchange for plane tickets.

All of this is consistent with the zero-tolerance policy that Dieter Zetsche has imposed on the company since another German executive in Europe was caught using brand money for his own benefit.

Ernst Lieb had been at Daimler AG since 1976, when he began his career as a spare parts specialist. Since 2006, Lieb has quite convincingly steered the North American arm of the firm, managing to raise vehicle sales ahead of the competition from Lexus and BMW.