For me it was fun, but not without a little fear. When I was just eight years old I had some testing on the track with other kids who had been doing this for two or three years, and with their experience they were flying past me.

In those days, the wheels of the karts weren’t covered so you did a lot of bouncing over each other’s kart wheels and spinning off the track. But I got better and better and I started to have a bit more ambition. So my Dad and I became a small “team”. He bought a used van and then a caravan – we did it “on a shoestring” with very limited budget.

I see it with a lot of people nowadays that parents have a lot of ambition, so from the start the kids are in a top team or driving with top material. We were different, it was a family business and after some success in club racing we took it to the (British) national championship.

In the first year 1991 I finished sixth in the championship. This was good for someone doing it on their own. At that point I got noticed by someone of the big teams. From that point on the team basically took me on board to be one of their top drivers. They paid me for pretty much all of my racing, which took the burden off of my Dad, because he was at the point (like probably most Dads) where he couldn’t afford to go on and on.

I don’t come from a rich family background, my father is just “a working man”. The first sponsoring really was a kickoff for my career and my first professional team was the door opener also to later car racing. My parents didn’t have loads and loads to spend on my racing. I was born in Bromley (Kent), we then moved to the south-west, to Devon. But that was too far away from most of the racetracks, so we moved again to Hertfordshire which where my first team was located.

I found some friends there, but at the weekends it was all about racing. That‘s what I wanted! If I look at it now, I sometimes get the feeling of having missed out on something, as I often had to change schools and today I don’t have a circle of friends from my childhood. But then I have been able to do such an incredible thing in my life, so it doesn’t bother me.

In karting, I then fought my way up through several classes to become vice national champion in 1994 and finally champion in 1995. In that year I also took second place in a race outside the UK in the European Championship, a big step for me as my name got known also outside the national championship. I also won the championship in ’96.

My first year in a racing car soon followed in 1998 with starting at the “Formula Vauxhall Junior”, a series like “Formula Ford” meaning single seaters, open wheels, no wings, and no downforce. The competition in that formula was incredibly close! I did two years in that, and won the class “B” and the Class “A”, but I really wanted to move on to Formula 3. After a year in the so called “F3 scholarship” in the UK I was picked up by a Formula 3 Team which was run by Jaguar at the time. They let me test their F3 cars! It went really well and I wanted to be part of that team.

But then I got my first “lesson of politics” in motorsport. Instead of choosing me for a seat in the team they took a guy whose father was a board member at Jaguar. I was left early in the season without a drive! A difficult situation… all the seats in the top teams in the UK had been taken. So we started to look abroad.

I knew Keke Rosberg (father of Nico Rosberg) and he was setting up a complete new F3 team. We did a deal and I came to my first race in Germany. I was really excited, because I had only done a few races outside the UK back then. It meant travelling to different countries and working with German people – I hardly understood a word in German…

A friend of my father came with me to the races and it meant a lot to me that some friends from England also showed up at the racetracks to give me a bit of “moral support”. But the great thing was, you have to experience that sort of thing because that “reality check” takes you further.

In Formula 3 I got to race on weekends on the same circuits like the DTM. It was great to see the cars and the star drivers or even meet some of them, because Team Rosberg was running a DTM car as well. I admired Bernd Schneider because he was the guy “doing the business” at the time and was Champion with Mercedes-Benz. And of course in Formula 1 there was Michael Schumacher at the top of his career…

I seemed to get closer to my idols, having watched the races on TV since I was a child. Someone I always looked up to was Ayrton Senna, just for the way he was, the complete driver he was. Not only was he incredibly fast but he also knew how to set up the car and to get the best out of it, how to work with the engineers and develop car and team both together. I know myself that there is no good being fast, if you can’t get on with your team – he had all that. The sheer passion of motorsport coming out! I was lucky to meet him once and remember being very shy…

I had two good years in the championship, with a few wins in the first year and the championship in the second year, in 2002. After that I was being noticed by Mercedes-Benz and was offered a test drive in the DTM – great!

Changing from a single seater to a Touring car was quite different, but the drive went really well. I was offered a seat in a DTM-Cockpit – and turned it down. A mistake, perhaps… But as a driver in those days I was chasing the dream of Formula 1. So I tried to take it a step further into Formula 3000, it was difficult for me to get a sponsorship.

Then there was a team that promised they had lots of sponsors and loads of money, the best engineers, so I joined up with them. The testing was very good, but before the first race, the top engineers left and the team was on its own. After one race at Imola, (the car was awful, I took14th place) I got a phone call from the team that there was no money left. –My second big lesson in motorsport and the worst point in my career. I was left alone after the beginning of the season with no team. And finding another team in May is impossible!

I got a phone call from Team Rosberg: “Would you like to race in the DTM? We have a seat for you!”  It was just a lucky break for me. I asked them “When is the first race?” They said “Oh, this weekend at the Nürburgring.” Ok, alright, – surprise shock – but I flew over on Wednesday, first got into the car on Friday…. What a change of luck being without a team at the beginning of the week and being paid for a drive at the next weekend! A big change to what I had before.

Although I did not finish my first race in the DTM because of a crash, the speed was good and it was the beginning of a great season. I scored the most points among the “one year old” cars in the DTM (as you probably know, there are teams in the DTM with brand new cars and teams who are running the cars from the season before).

I was very lucky and quickly learned to adopt my driving style. DTM cars are a lot heavier than single-seaters and “move around” a lot more. In corners a formula car will stick to the line and do what you want it to do, where as you have to fight with a DTM car much more to get the quick times as it is sliding in the corners. And the DTM cars are lot different to Touring Cars: On a much higher level, the amount of downforce you have, the brakes, the power – it’s just incredible! It’s a lot closer to a single seater than Touring Cars. I have to admit: Being a British driver in a German  Team driving for Mercedes, back home I sometimes get the jokes, but I can tell that Germany in the UK has a massive reputation for building good cars. Especially Mercedes!

Finishing sixth in my debut season, I was promoted to a full works drive with AMG-Mercedes in 2004 but narrowly missed out on the championship crown, despite taking five wins.
In 2005 it was my turn: winning the DTM title with a total of 5 wins during the season! It was a great feeling! But still I had to make up my mind upon Formula 1, so for 2006 I made a deal as a test driver for McLaren. I definitely learned a lot, but also missed the thrill of competing.

So 2007 saw me back in the DTM driving seat, but this time with Persson Motorsport. I remained with the team for 2008 and took 9th place in the championship. During 2009, I raced the AMG Mercedes C-Klasse for team Salzgitter AMG Mercedes and took second place in the championship. The battle for the 2010 title went right down to the wire and ended with me taking second place, just four points behind the Champion.

2011 and 2012 to me were the most challenging years in DTM so far. In 2011 four strong top five finishes were unfortunately coupled with a number of set up problems with the car throughout the season which saw me ending the season seventh in the championship. That was hard for me…

Last year I was competing again for the DTM title, whilst working with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes as their reserve and test driver. BMW came new to the championship and it was a real close battle between Bruno Spengler and me, up to the last race: 145 to 149 Points! Damn it! At least I was the best Mercedes-driver in 2012. But it was for the third time in four years that I had finished second in the championship. I‘m not going to accept that again for 2013…

Besides all that racing I am a happy married man with three sons, and often being asked: Would you let them race? Hmm. To be honest, I don’t know, the oldest is now nine years old and hasn‘t had a go in a kart yet. I would let them, but haven’t made up my mind… it’s not that I would be scared, there’s danger everywhere – my biggest concern is that today, even more than in my early days you have to have enormous sums of money when starting a career, or strong works support and sponsorship. And that’s difficult enough to find. It should be more about talent than money.

Some “young guns” who I’m pretty sure do have talent are driving for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM this year: Roberto Merhi (21, from Spain), Christian Vietoris (23, from Germany) Robert Wickens (23, from Canada), Daniel Juncadella (21, from Spain) and Pascal Wehrlein (18, from Germany). As I have been around now for quite a few years and know the situation of how it feels to start in this tough competition at the DTM, I will try my best to help them out and get them going….

2013 is really an important year for me. After being pipped to the post by Bruno Spengler and BMW in last year’s DTM championship, I want to get it right for me and Mercedes this year. I get a lot of support from my team, my family and friends and want to make sure that I improve on last year. Together with the team we worked hard over the winter to make everything a little bit better than last year. We’re gonna beat those Beemers, eh?

Check out the dates for the DTM-season 2013!

All information about the Mercedes-Benz-Teams

However, to be honest, it was very difficult to keep this incredible news quiet for several days ahead of the official announcement. As you can imagine, the entire facility was filled with emotion and rampant speculation about a special visit that was going to take place in a few days. The guesses of who the special guest might be ranged widely – from top Daimler Executives, State of Michigan Governmental Officials as well as a few that actually got it right and mentioned the possibility of the President of the United States visiting us. I kept to my word and remained silent.

When the day of the event finally came around, I couldn’t help but think about all of the effort it took to plan, prepare and organize the event. Very few employees had advanced notice and were assigned critical tasks to make sure that the President’s visit was 100% successful. It was truly amazing to see how this small group pulled together as a team to ensure everything would go smoothly – it was a testament to the teamwork that drives Daimler to be the best.

It was finally time to go to the big event, I checked in to receive my press credentials with the White House Communications group and took my seat among the Nation’s media. As I sat with the press corps, I listened to all of the discussions going on around me – for example, I overheard reporters sharing facts of important executives, government officials and White House staff members that were entering the special VIP section. There were constant tweets, blogs and as well as the frantic click-clack of fingers typing furiously on computer keyboards – I felt special to be in the midst of the media frenzy that would result in news across the world.

The atmosphere in the plant was bustling with excitement and anticipation as everyone waited patiently for the President’s arrival. This was going to be President’s first visit to Michigan since the National election. Even more amazing was the fact that this was the President’s second visit to a Daimler Trucks facility in less than one year (he visited the Daimler Trucks North America facility in Mount Holly, North Carolina earlier this year to recognize our innovations in fuel efficiency). What an amazing feat! I can’t imagine he has ever visited a manufacturer twice in one year – once in a year is incredible, twice, WOW.

To my delight, Martin Daum, President and CEO of Daimler Trucks North America was announced and took the Presidential stage to talk about the importance of the new ‘‘Detroit‘‘ brand name and the integration of Detroit Diesel and Daimler 12 years ago. He mentioned that moving forward the company’s goal was to continue our undisputed market leadership and for Detroit to supply the industry with exceptional engines, axles and transmissions. The crowd gave Martin a deafening round of applause.

A calm silence came over everyone right before President Obama walked in, at that moment it suddenly became very real to me that the President of the United States was there for us. To recognize our achievements in front of the whole world. When he announced that Daimler would invest $120 million in the facility and continue to create jobs to support the community the entire audience exploded with applause and cheers. Furthermore, the President detailed our leadership – stating that we are the only manufacturer to announce a completely integrated powertrain to be produced under one roof – in fact, we are the only manufacturer to have a completely integrated powertrain in North America right now. I could sense the immense pride in the room. As the speech came to an end the cheering continued and positive energy flowed through the crowd. My final thought as the applause continued for what seemed to be a lifetime was the pride I felt to be working for a company worthy of direct praise by the President of the United States. My wish is that all Daimler employees could sense the energy and pride that I felt from this historic occasion.

Last week I had the pleasure of helping at the first press Ride and Drive event for the Evolution. If you’re going to be invited to work at a press event, you could do a lot worse than Napa, so naturally I agreed to once again tag along and blog about my experience. Following the successful unveiling in May, the time was ripe to get the press out of the conference room and into the saddle. My task was simple: ride along with the press and observe their reactions while being mindful of my own impressions.

Roomy cabin
I climbed into the cab of the Cascadia Evolution behind two trucking journalists and two members of the Freightliner marketing team. As I took my place on the bunk of the enormously roomy sleeper, my first impression was that I was very comfy. Cruelly, the bed had been made with a crisp sheets and a luxuriously soft blanket. Only my two colleagues sitting on either side of me (and my dignity) prevented me from immediately settling down for a nap.

Perfect truck for an inexperienced driver
The route took us south on Highway 29 and then north along the picturesque Silverado trail. There were several tricky maneuvers and opportunities for the press to admire the Evolution’s easy handling. Both journalists agreed that this would be a perfect truck for an inexperienced driver, allowing them to focus more on the road and traffic, and noted that the driver-friendliness made it possible to truly appreciate the views from the cockpit. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, testing the Detroit DT12 Automated Manual Transmission and marveling at the creep mode. At the end of the drive they enthusiastically consented to saying a few words into my camera about how much they liked the truck.

Quiet and smooth ride
At that moment I realized that the cab was so quiet that I could hear every word of the conversation in the front (and “Moves Like Jagger” on the radio) while I was sitting 8 feet away in the bunk. And when I stood to take some video of Steve driving, the ride was smooth and my camera didn’t shake. I also had my first weigh station experience, where more surprises were in store. The small cluster of buildings on the side of the road looked deserted. I didn’t see a single police officer, semi-automatic weapon, or bomb-sniffing dog. Somehow I imagined weigh stations more like airport security.

Conclusion
During a quiet moment along our route between Napa and Sacramento on I-80, I looked out the window at the sprawling corn fields and orchards and couldn’t help but romanticize about days long past. I thought about truckers bumping along Route 66, engine roaring, no air-conditioning, an Elvis Presley song playing on the scratchy radio. Then I leaned back in the cool, dim bunk of the Cascadia Evolution and thought, “Good riddance.”

Some impressions of the ride and interviews with the testdrivers.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6o0S3SSv94

Get more information about our brand variety of Daimler Trucks in our booklet.

Get more information about the efficiency of the Cascadia Evolution in this video.

Two days full of events may seem exhaustive for some people and if there are even workshops included is it also going to be boring? Not at all! For two days all of us had extreme fun and gain a lot of knowledge about different places with different customs.

Intercultural Exchange

But let me start with the 1^st day, 18^th of July 2012. It was an event called “Intercultural Exchange“. We had the chance to present our own beloved native countries to our supervisors as well as to some interested employees of Daimler. Further we had the chance to meet Mr. Bernd Staudinger (Head of Corporate Academy) again with whom we talked first about some key learning experience. Afterwards we began to present our home countries.

Seems normal right! Especially for us, as we thought that we have a good background about the other Arabian countries cultures. But surprisingly we discovered that we have no idea about a lot of customs. Each presentation was special in its own way. Tasting other places cultures was really fun and interesting. Some customs was shocking like the marriage in Morocco and that the husband has to present a lot of gold for his bride and the wedding ceremony should last for 3 days. The Palestinian cause was presented in interesting manner and the music as well that I found it myself really cool. Talking about the Egyptian revolution and interesting types of sports in United Arab Emirates was good as well.

After that we went to Esslingen. Visiting old churches and places was really good especially when you have excellent tour guide. That is why the tour was really interesting and we got a lot of new information about the town and the peoples believe at that time there and the most famous legends. Then we had some tasty food at a restaurant in Esslingen. After that we went back to Möhringen but it seemed like our day didn´t finish yet! We went to Schlossplatz to spend the night and we barely slept for 5 hours preparing ourselves for the next day.

Innovation workshop

This title was extremely fun for me and this specific event I was waiting for, as Innovation my major and what I want to do for the rest of my life. On 19^th of July we gathered early at the morning heading to Daimler Innovation studio in Böblingen. The place was really cool. Everything about it was different even the chairs and decorations. We were divided to 3 groups and from this point the fun started. We created our character and started to create his own life, what he likes, how he dresses, his work, his personality, everything. Then we started to create his own time plan, work, problems and even provided solutions for these problems.

After lunch we started to do different tasks. We were asked to write our opinions about certain situations and what we would need in each one. Then more complicated questions were waiting for us to relate some words to our own memories or ideas. This part was interesting to great extent. And finally each team had to present his character to others and their ideas about how his life will look like on 2020. Some ideas were funny like parking the car horizontally by vibrating it. Others were imaginary like helicopters will be used as public transportations. But at the end we all had fun and enjoyed those two events.

This event is a part of the Daimler Internship Exchange Program Arabia. For more insights into our inception meeting click here.

On Monday, the 16^th, Mercedes sent a large, comfy sedan to take us to the Customer Service Center, where I received the documents for my “auto”. We took an outstanding, astonishing tour of the factory. There among huge automatic machinery, we witnessed the coming together of parts to make the MB automobiles. We were amazed at the accurate timing and precision of those huge arms. After lunch in the fine dining area, they took us to the showroom and presented my car to me. I felt so pleased and of course, excited. So much so, that I had my brother drive the car out of the showroom.

It’s time to start the journey

Monday evening, we drove to the Brenner’s Park Hotel in Baden Baden. It was a gem in one of Germany’s well-kept forest areas. Our visit was short: we could not stay for breakfast. But we were graciously given a lunch pack to enjoy on our way back to Stuttgart. A meeting was scheduled to meet Mr. Thilo Wessel, employee of the MB museum, in Stuttgart, that Tuesday morning.

It is a MUST! Anyone who purchases a Mercedes-Benz, must do this tour. Breathtaking, awesome from bicycles to today’s designs and engineering feats. We were impressed with its architecturally modern spiral design to display the treasures of the Mercedes-Benz company. So much is learned and truly appreciated when walking among those automobiles. We drove to Hinterzarten, Black Forest area, and spent the evening at the Park Hotel Adler: elegant, formal atmosphere. How easy to relax at their charming inn with a glass of good German beer.

Wednesday, 18^th: The morning ride to the near town of Triberg brought back good memories of past visits. On and on we drove and up, up, we went. The temperature went down, down; surrounded by snow. Our car was a safe haven; warm and cozy, with no fears of road dangers.
Wednesday afternoon, we were pampered from the moment they opened the door of the car at Bayerischer Hof in Munich. Shopping, sightseeing and having “wurst” at the Hofbrauhaus, visiting at Dallmayr’s for apple “strudel” filled our days. Friday found us surrounded by snow-covered evergreens on the way to Oberammergau. The picturesque village can only make one smile with delight.

Saturday, 21^st : We unveiled our top on the SLK on the way to Garmisch. Happily we found an auto exhibit, with MB’s too. The next road took us to Innsbruck, Austria. Due to drizzling weather, we continued to sunny Italy. Dolomite mountains showed more beauty in the alps. We continued through Bolzani, Verona, Como Italy having a great time learning how to use our features on the car. We depended on our NAVI system for all directions, in and out of the countries.

Last days in Europe

Friday was the start of our last leg in Zurich. The first thing was to check out the auto export firm that was to receive my car the next Tuesday. We had no difficulty in arranging the export of my car. Next we visited the nearest MB dealer to ask about some of our features in the car. He was so helpful and invited us in for coffee (yes, we had our first Swiss chocolate, thanks to Mike).

Saturday, Farmer’s market: Large one filled with color: fruits, flowers, vegetables and baking goodies. The rest of the day was spent by lake ( Lake Constance) and another boatride to calm our pace.

Monday was “D” day – delivery day- we gave up the car for export home to NY, USA. Tuesday we flew out of Zurich, to Frankfurt, to NY.
What an interesting, revealing adventure! Cas and I are grateful to Mercedes-Benz for this opportunity. We would do it again!!!!!

In the following video you can accompany us on our tour through the Mercedes-Benz museum:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmB2F5bJORg

About the author

The article was written by Jean Sokol (83), who was a Mercedes-Benz SL driver for many years. In spring she picked up her new SLK in Stuttgart -- together with her brother Cas (90).
Few weeks later, they send us a letter by post, enclosed a photo album documenting their journey through Europe. Last week, we got the digital pics.

Young Arab Leaders (YAL) at Daimler

On the 2nd of July, Daimler organized its first event to its Arab International Exchange Interns. It was a group meeting in Untertürkheim with one of the Board of Directors in Daimler, Mr. Porth. We all gathered together, talked and presented and concluded the evening with a delicious cuisine.

When we all (the interns) met at noon, the event kicked off by a short presentation presented by Mr. Meier. The presentations’ topic focused on Daimler’s activities and its involvement in various fields. It has also uncovered the initiation of the Daimler Internship Exchange Program, which was founded under the title “Young Arab Leaders” in corporation with H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai in 2004. But after the financial crisis in 2009 and several financial sufferings, the program could not be funded, and there were Daimler changed the program’s name into ‘Daimler Internship Exchange Program-Arabia’ (DIEPA). We have also seen the various divisions in which Daimler is greatly involved. Daimler as mentioned is greatly involved in cars, trucks, vans and buses production as well as financial services.

After the short presentation, we were given some posters and asked to draw and write our names and our first impression that was indulged in us when we first stepped in Germany. We drew what came in our minds and then we were asked to present about ourselves and explain what we drew in the posters. Mr. Wilfried Porth, Mr. Bernd Staudinger as well as Salome Bosch, an intern with Daimler who was responsible for the events of the interns at Daimler, attended this presentation. We all got to know each other more and more and the barriers between us were somehow dissolved. Mr. Porth listened to our presentations and elaborated on a point that was mentioned several times by most of us, the various forms of cultural greetings. Each of us has a different way of greeting the other person. Coming from Germany and travelling throughout his life, Mr. Porth was able to explain to us how cultures differ from one another when it comes to greeting.

The motivating team spirit

The next day, on the 3rd of July, Daimler once again organized an amusing trip. Today’s trip was one of a kind. In the morning, we met Christina Lydia Joos and Salome Bosch, interns with Daimler whom are responsible for the events planning and interns issues.. We all were more like a family, walking, talking and joking as a complete whole family.

We visited Daimler’s Head Quarters in Untertürkheim in the early morning. Being present beside the motor factory plant, we attended a presentation that revolved around the different types of motors in the various classes of Mercedes cars.
We entered the motor plant factory, and saw how the magnificent tiny motor parts get to be assembled together to form a marvelous motor. Our finite minds would hardly understand the complicated and sophisticated processes that the motor parts go through in order to get a single motor unit at the end. Parts are collected from different places all over the world and each part is scanned and given a specific serial number in order to be identified by several sensors. Robots are everywhere working coherently. Everything including the automation machines works in peace and harmony.

Having lunch together in Daimler’s canteen was our next step. We enjoyed a delicious meal with Daimler’s staff and afterwards we headed off to Mercedes Benz museum in Untertürkheim. This was a whole new experience. This museum is more like a town in a town. The museum did not only present the latest Mercedes cars and its predecessors, in fact, it has also a huge section which portrayed Germany’s history and how life looked like before the introduction of automobiles in a group of simple pictures and models. We observed the first automobile on earth, which was the Benz motor wagon, and saw the first designed motors that are named under its inventor, the Otto motor. We have also noticed the various models of Mercedes cars, vans, buses and trucks. Huge massive machines were all brought from several years back and put together under one roof.

Last but not least we were excited and keen to try the formula 1 stimulator. We were taken through a visual as well as practical tour, by trying a moving simulator that uncovered the history of the Mercedes racing cars.
Overall, those two days not only will not be forgotten. I would like to deeply thank Christina and Salome for this amusing tour. I would also like to emphasize on thanking my dear friends for making this day fun to all of us. Thanks Elias, Nasser, Asmae, Zineb, Farah, Basma, Gina, Lina, Mohammed, Noha Khater, Noha Hassan, Salma, Nancy and Christine. It was fun and comfortable to be with all of you, and looking forward to enjoy another interesting day with all of you. Although I wonder how a more interesting day would look like more than the past two days!

Daimler Financial Services at the Christopher Street Day Berlin 2012

They say that change is the one constant in life, and this saying certainly rings true in the business world.

Working in a dynamic industry such as mobility and automotive finance, we know that Daimler Financial Services (DFS) must constantly evolve to meet the changing and diverse needs of its customers. I’d like to think that every employee is unique and brings something different to the table, and that harnessing and celebrating these differences also makes good business sense. Put more simply, it makes for a better place to work. This is why for the last 2 years; DFS have sponsored a truck at the Berlin Christopher Street Day Parade.

It was only when I was standing on the truck in 2011, surrounded by over 100 employees and their friends, from different backgrounds, age groups and lifestyles, did I realise what DFS participation in the CSD meant to me personally.

I’m young, I’m foreign, my German isn’t great. As an employee though, I am given the same opportunities to develop and progress here as everyone else. As a person, I am treated with equal respect. Everybody, regardless of what makes them an individual, should be treated with this same level of fairness. This is the message our company sends by participating at the CSD. We value diversity. Or, as per the DFS Motto for CSD this year, “We know the difference”.

That is why, when I was asked this year to lead the organisation of the DFS Truck for 2012, I said “yes” without hesitation. As a fan of last year’s CSD parade commented, the DFS Float was not simply a “Gay Float”, but rather a “Tolerance Float”. The bottom line for me, is that I can be proud to work for a company who really walks the talk when it comes to diversity.

Now, would I have written this article 2 years ago? Probably not. But hey, that’s the great thing about change! My question is no longer, “what does CSD have to do with me?” but rather, “who’s on board for next year?”

Our first adventure – the flight! With an old propeller aircraft – really exciting and even terrifying. However, we made it somehow to Birmingham. Around midnight, all of us were glad to arrive at our host families safely, but quite tired. Three of us interns had host families in the greater area of Milton Keynes. Two lived next to Bedford, which was about 30 minutes away from Milton Keynes.

Each of us was allocated to another department to work with, during our three-week internship. The departments were Customer Services, Corporate Real Estate, Human Resources, Logistics and Finance.

The city of Milton Keynes was built in the 1960s and is one of the so called “New Towns” in the UK. It has approximately 250.000 inhabitants right now and is still growing. Milton Keynes was built for people to relocate them from the center of London to the outer conurbation area. Furthermore its streets are arranged like a grid and instead of crossings they are connected with lots of roundabouts. You can hardly find any traffic lights there. Furthermore, Milton Keynes has a great offer for free time activities. It has the longest (720 m) shopping mall and the biggest indoor ski dome of Europe, as well as the so called “National Bowl” were lots of open air concerts take place.

We also went to Oxford and Cambridge for a day to visit the famous university buildings and to do a boat tour (called “punting”), which is really popular around there. On top of that, we spent one weekend in London, including a sight-seeing bus tour, meeting lots of celebrities at Madame Tussauds and a boat tour on the River Thames.

Organized by MBUK, we visited MB World in Brooklands, including a guided tour and the highlight – a 20-minute driving-experience for each of us in a Mercedes C63 AMG on a small test- and racetrack. We also went to Brackley to visit the Formula 1 team Mercedes Grand Prix Petronas. 

Cultural and general differences

People in England are really friendly and talkative.  At MBUK we enjoyed the very good working atmosphere and felt very comfortable. The colleagues and even the management work on first name basis what we all really liked. Another difference to our employment at Daimler in Germany is that the employees can’t build up overtime like we do. They just have to finish their work in time. No matter, whether they stay in the office for 8 or 10 hours a day. Furthermore, we experienced a different dress code:  In England people don’t wear jeans for work like we used to. In the offices they are usually dressed very businesslike. Only in Logistics the dress code is more casual, due to their jobs.

Another interesting fact is that they have air condition everywhere, even though it’s often cold and rainy outside. You usually have to wear a long sleeved shirts or a blazer because it’s really cold in the office. The food in England wasn’t as bad as expected.

Unfortunately, those three really interesting, exciting and fantastic weeks went by too fast and on the 16^th August we had to return with the really scary propeller aircraft to Stuttgart.

Looking back to those three weeks we spent in Milton Keynes, we can definitely say that this was the best time we had during our apprenticeships so far. It was good to get to know the differences and of course the similarities between Germans and English’, not only at work, but also by living in a British host family.

We improved our business English and learned a lot about the English working culture and the MBUK. It was very interesting to see how the company and its employees are working abroad. It’s such a shame, that only five interns per year have the possibility to go abroad because this is an experience you’ll never forget and I think it’s a great chance to broaden your knowledge of the company, your language skills and of course yourself.

Every year at this time we are all urged to show leadership in the fight to end the devastation of HIV and AIDS: as individuals, in our families, in our communities and at our work-places.

AIDS matters so much because it causes too many premature deaths of economically active men and women, many of whom had children too young to fend for themselves. It leads to untold misery to far too many households, bringing with it human insecurity, illness and poverty. Also, HIV/AIDS remains a significant threat to business and an obstacle to sustained economic growth in the developing world – especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

While globally the HIV pandemic has stabilised, infection rates continue to grow in high-risk groups, including sex workers and injecting drug users, and also amongst the general population in Eastern Europe, India, China and South East Asia.

The theme of World AIDS Day in 2011 Getting to Zero. The campaign is coordinated globally by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and focuses on galvanising global action to achieve:
Zero New HIV Infections
Zero Discrimination
Zero AIDS-related Deaths

World AIDS Day reminds us that HIV/AIDS has not gone away and that there are many challenges still to be tackled. Testing for HIV as a part of your regular general health check is the key to winning the global war against HIV/AIDS.

In the Mercedez-Benz South Africa Group of Companies World AIDS Day will be commemorated in 2011 under the banner of South Africa is Taking Responsibility. The Mercedes-Benz Group of Companies in South Africa is taking Responsibility and, once again, pledges to continue to develop and strengthen Employee Health and Wellbeing Programmes to ensure universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support for employees and their families and to invest in community-based HIV/AIDS prevention and care projects. Employees have been urged to show their commitment to Getting to Zero and South Africa is Taking Responsibility by participating in the commemoration activities planned at both East London and Zwartkop locations.

East London: Mercedes-Benz South Africa is hosting canteen lunch-talks by wellness centre staff and peer educators – focusing on the Getting to Zero theme. ‘Trees of Life’ will be placed in canteens and employees are invited to write cards of remembrance for loved ones that have passed on as a result of HIV & AIDS. The trees, and the trees purchased for Arbor Day, will be planted in the Gately Stream area to create an indigenous wooded area. Donation bins will also be placed in the canteens and at the entrance gates. You are invited to place any clothing, shoes, canned food, etc. that you feel would be useful to someone affected by HIV & AIDS.

Zwartkop: The headquarters of the Mercedes-Benz South Africa Group of Companies will be hosting 83 children (aged between 5 and 6), and 15 caregivers from the Ekukhanyeni Relief Project ‘Home of Hope and Light’ in Lawley. The Early Childhood Development Project has been supported by MBSA for the past three years. A ‘Tree of Life’ will be displayed at Reception 2 from the 25th of November and employees are invited to write messages of remembrance to their loved ones, who have lost their lives or been otherwise impacted by HIV & AIDS or related illnesses. On World AIDS day, MBGoC employees will ‘meet and greet’ children and caregivers from Ekukhanyeni Relief Projection their arrival at the main entrance gate and walk together to the tree-planting site. During the tree planting, Nobuzwe Mangcu, the Executive Director of Corporate Affairs will give a key message and the children will sing as the tree is planted. After the ceremony, snacks and refreshments will be served to the children and the AfterSales Division will also hand out soft toys to the children as a gift of hope and love.

Dr. Clifford Panter manages employee health, safety and wellbeing strategies, programmes and related benefits and services for the Mercedes-Benz Group of Companies in South Africa – including the corporation’s HIV/AIDS workplace programmes, which are widely regarded as a benchmark, having received international recognition in the form of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB & Malaria 2002 Award for Leadership and Business Excellence. Dr. Panter currently represents Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s parent company, Daimler AG, at GBCHealth and serves as the Daimler AG “Centre of Competence on HIV/AIDS” within the Corporation’s Health & Safety Directorate.

Let me introduce myself first; my name is Asma Al Mehairi, I’m a 19 years old Emarati living in my hometown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Currently, I’m a 3^rd year student at the American University in Dubai studying Business and majoring in Marketing Communication. Even though 6 months is a lot to pack into a few sets of paragraphs, I will be more than happy to give you a slight glimpse of what my time in Daimler and in Germany was like and hope it compares.

First of all, let me express how delighted and honored I am to be the first Emarati student to participate in this cross-culture oriented program that has been running for a little over five years now. The main focus of the program is to promote the dialogue between Arab students and experienced Daimler managers creating a perfect platform to exchange ideas, experience, and knowledge. I am truly humbled to present and represent who and what the people of the United Arab Emirates are in this broad culture-conscious program. 

My internship took place in the core of Mercedes-Benz, in Stuttgart, at FleetBoard in the Sales department. FleetBoard is a truck Telematics Company and it is a daughter company of Daimler AG, which operates on an international level across the globe in areas such as Europe, Middle East, South Africa, and Brazil. My main job was to plan, coordinate, and assist Market Management Sales of the European Union and facilitate in everyday life at FleetBoard. However, I was given more to work and experience with and so I was also integrated into other projects such as CRM and a few MENA (Middle East and North Africa) projects to name a few.

My whole experience with FleetBoard as a company started slow and as it kept going on, it kept increasing in speed and magnitude, allowing me to pick up more material as the pace increased. I was very welcomed in my first days by my colleagues and supervisors. On the other hand however, the biggest barrier for me was the language. But thanks to Daimler we were given complementary German lesson for a period of around 12 weeks which I have to admit helped a lot. In addition to that I also enrolled for German classes at the Universität Hohenheim to strengthen my so-far-acquired German.

I’m also pleased that I was able to take part in one of the few milestones that marked my YAL-Daimler journey. The first being FleetBoard’s Driver League Finale, where all employees helped in taking part and organizing his successful day. FB’s Driver League Finale is an annual competition day between economical drivers from different parts of the world that had the chance to experience FleetBoard in their job workplace, and at the end of the day, one of the drivers who achieved the highest points won! And even though this day took place on a Saturday and around an hour away from Stuttgart in a town called Münsingen, it was a day where I felt like I was truly a part of the FleetBoard family.

Another event that I was fortunate enough to be able to attend was the Launch of the new Daimler’s Actros Truck in Münsingen. Such launches usually take place every 10 to 15 years and so I was one of the lucky ones to be allowed to drive a 30 tons Truck! Other events I have also enjoyed extremely were the Mercedes-Benz Museum tour, the Innovation Workshop that all interns participated in, lastly but not leastly, the meeting with one of the Board Members Mr. Porth where we passionately discussed our internships, experiences, and the situations of the Middle East openly.

Lastly, with only two weeks left of my six-month internship here in Germany, I have to admit this journey is going to come to an end all too soon for me! This experience shaped me as a woman, a scholar, and a person and I will forever be grateful to have gone through such an experience. I have developed not just as a person with all the skills and situation I went through, but I’ve become more culturally conscious, posses a broader perspective of things, and much more independent then I ever thought I could be.

Not to mention, all the friendships I have acquired within Daimler premises and outside truly made me feel at home when I was thousands and thousands of miles away from it.  I truly wish everyone can go through a similar journey because you learn so much and you grow so quickly, you’re already a different and better person when you first step foot into Germany. And I personally think that this is an overlooked important goal we all acquired through this exchange in a way or another, a goal unseen by Daimler, a goal for you to discover!