Meet Maretha Gerber, Daimler’s trucking dynamo
August is Women’s Month in South Africa; we also celebrate Women’s Day this month. To commemorate this fact, we’re paying tribute to some of the leading ladies of the South African truck industry. And the first is Daimler’s Maretha Gerber.
One of many leading ladies
Daimler Trucks & Buses employs enormously capable and successful women across the globe. For instance, Karin Rådström is a Member of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Trucks. Marcela Barreiro is President and CEO of Daimler Trucks Mexico. And, here in South Africa, we have the enormously talented Maretha Gerber, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa (DTBSA).
Gerber’s two-decade journey from selling copiers to becoming one of trucking’s leading ladies is the perfect example of how far women have come in South Africa’s automotive industry.
This dynamic and passionate trucking professional was approached to join Daimler’s passenger car and key accounts division in 2000 while working in copier sales. She jumped at the chance. “Even though there was a lot to learn when making this transition, it was a dream come true! Every experience was exciting,” she says. “The fundamentals of sales remain the same, but with different products come different processes and customer expectations. So, I had to challenge myself to learn as much as I could as quickly as possible, keep an adaptable mindset, and stay focused on achieving my goals.”
Gerber believes that a large part of her success within Daimler has been down to challenging herself in a wide variety of positions, in areas including sales, key accounts, marketing, strategy, dealer network and retail. This diversity helped her to broaden her skill set and gain valuable all-round experience, adding to her credibility and giving her the confidence to take on each successive challenge.
“This gave me room for growth at all times,” explains Gerber. “I did not particularly set the goal to become Vice President of Sales and Marketing, but I did intentionally take on positions where I could learn and grow. I wanted to become a leader who can make a difference. This was another opportunity for growth and a chance to contribute to the automotive sector.”
Gerber’s experience in both retail and sales and marketing has been very beneficial in her current role; she notes that understanding different aspects of the automotive industry is key to developing relationships, getting buy-in, and implementing strategies with speed.
She is enthusiastic about being able to offer a total cost-of-ownership solution through MB Trucks’ sales strategies. She’s also proud to be able to offer a customer service and parts solution to keep customers’ trucks moving. “Being able to develop strategies and solutions for our customers – from product to sales to value-added products – is really exhilarating!” she says. “It makes us proud to be able to define a team vision, to develop an end-to-end, customised, South African solution for our customers and to see this vision being realised every day. No day is ever the same as the last – this is what I enjoy and what keeps me on my toes.”
When asked about her vision for the company, Gerber emphasises that trucks are – and will remain – a critical economic contributor in South Africa. She highlights the partnership with customers that provides a logistics solution to move goods to end-users: “Without trucks, the economy would come to a standstill,” she states. “We depend on trucks and their drivers to bring essential goods to us, and this will remain key in the future. My vision for the company is for us to continuously build on our transport solutions and services so that we are able to offer a custom-fit offering to meet the needs of any industry or application.”
Gerber goes on to outline Daimler’s global focus on electrification and fuel cell technology as key short-term strategies that could benefit the local market. “We believe in focusing on delivering products with optimal fuel consumption in the short-term,” she explains, noting that advances in South Africa’s landscape and market to progress to Euro 5/6 emission standards would provide further opportunities for Daimler to bring technologically-advanced products to our shores. “When the opportunity presents itself, we will also look to include e-mobility solutions,” she adds, concluding: “Our logistics sector is world class and highly professional – it is vital to complement this with advanced products.”
What a coincidence. “World class” and “highly professional” are the exact terms that also spring to mind when describing Gerber.
