Car Guy Jurgen Schrempp Celebrates His 60th Birthday

STUTTGART, Germany, Sept. 14 -- Professor Jurgen E. Schrempp, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG, will celebrate his 60th birthday on September 15, 2004. Schrempp has been active in the company and in international business for nearly 45 years.

Born in Freiburg, Schrempp completed his apprenticeship at Daimler-Benz in his hometown. Between 1964 and 1967 he studied mechanical engineering at the University for Applied Science in Offenburg, Germany. Schrempp joined Daimler- Benz' headquarters in Stuttgart in 1967, shortly after receiving his degree as a mechanical engineer. He assumed his first management post within the Group in 1974, when he was transferred to United Car and Diesel Distributors (UCDD) in Pretoria, South Africa. The company was later renamed Mercedes-Benz of South Africa (MBSA). From 1980 to 1982 Schrempp served on the Board of Management of MBSA. During this period Schrempp and his family developed close ties to South Africa.

In 1982 Schrempp was again promoted -- this time to become President of EUCLID Inc., a subsidiary of Daimler-Benz in the United States. In 1985 Schrempp returned to South Africa as Chairman of the Management Board of MBSA. He moved back to Germany in 1987 as a board member for Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Division, responsible for worldwide marketing. Two years later, Schrempp was appointed Chairman of the Management Board of Daimler-Benz Aerospace, a position he held until 1995.

Schrempp was named Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz AG in 1995. Under his leadership the once highly diversified Daimler-Benz group refocused on its core business of developing, manufacturing and marketing automobiles and commercial vehicles. Following the merger with Chrysler Corporation in 1998, Schrempp shared the chairmanship of DaimlerChrysler's management board with Robert J. Eaton. Upon Eaton's retirement in 2000, Schrempp was confirmed as the Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG.

Schrempp's commitment to good corporate citizenship and social responsibility programs can be illustrated by many activities. To name but a few, he is the founding and current Chairman of the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI). Between 2002 and 2004 Schrempp served as Chairman of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS. He is a staunch supporter of the World Childhood Foundation, as well as the Peace Parks Foundation. Schrempp has also been an influential champion of the POEMA rainforest project in Brazil.