At only 52 years old
Daimler Truck CFO Jochen Goetz dies unexpectedly
8/6/2023 9:32 p.m
Jochen Goetz spends his entire professional life at Daimler. Now the chief financial officer of the company’s spun-off truck and bus division has died at the age of just 52. The group declined to comment on the cause of death. Only this much: It is the result of a tragic accident.
The chief financial officer of the truck manufacturer Daimler Truck, Jochen Goetz, is dead. The manager “died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 52,” said the DAX group in Leinfelden-Echterdingen. Goetz died in a tragic accident on Saturday. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
“Jochen Goetz’s death is a huge loss for Daimler Trucks, both personally and professionally,” said Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum. Chairman of the Supervisory Board Joe Kaeser was also dismayed. General works council chief Michael Brecht praised Goetz as a “long-term companion and trustworthy contact, a friend”.
Goetz had been a member of the board for a good two years and a few months later took the truck and bus division, which had been spun off from Daimler, to the stock exchange. “Jochen Goetz was a Daimler truck with heart and soul,” said Daum. “He played a key role in shaping today’s Daimler Truck company and, as CFO, consistently worked to ensure that (it) is more economically successful today than ever before.”
From apprenticeship to the board of directors
Goetz has spent his entire professional life for more than 36 years in the Daimler Group: from an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk to various finance and controlling functions – mostly in the commercial vehicle division – to the board of directors. Just last week he had presented the quarterly figures from Daimler Truck. “Just a few days ago, he convincingly and confidently presented the successful financial development of ‘his company’ to the supervisory board,” said Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board. “His knowledge of and commitment to the company is unparalleled.”
In the past quarter, Daimler Truck broke the ten percent mark for the first time across the Group and sees itself on the way to record profits. “Daimler Truck is still on the road to success,” said CEO Martin Daum on August 1st. The entire team is determined to make 2023 another record year. The Dax group had recently announced key operating data for the second quarter and raised the return forecast for the year as a whole by one percentage point to 8.5 to 10.0 percent. With higher sales and sales, profits will increase “very” significantly, said Daum.