The former CEO of Daimler AG, Dieter Zetsche, has declined the role of Chairman of the company’s supervisory board. Daimler AG is the multinational holding company that includes Mercedes Benz. It has become a tradition for departing Daimler AG CEO’s to take up the Chairmanship of the company after a two-year cooling-off period. However, Zetsche had faced growing unrest from internal international investors who see the former CEO as damaged goods over the diesel emissions scandal. In the USA Daimler AG has already agreed to pay $2.2 billion in fines, which expected to be is just a tip of the iceberg.

American investors have pressured Daimler AG board members to refuse Zetsche’s elevation to the role of chairman. Zetsche is credited with turning around the fortunes of Mercedes Benz, revitalizing sales, and attracting a more youthful buyer. But to what end? The avalanche of Dieselgate fines may well continue to haunt Mercedes for years and undo everything that Zetsche has strived for. 

In a newspaper interview, Dieter Zetsche was casually blunt in the reasons behind his recusal and exit from the Daimler AG brand.

“The fact that after 40 years of work, I am not regarded by some as an asset, but as a burden, I do not need that,” said Zetsche

A successor for the current Daimler AG Chairman, Manfre Bischoff, is expected to be independent of Daimler AG. However, this individual will be a current member of the Supervisory Board. Someone who is free from personal conflicts of interest. In the end, very much like the Dieselgate sandal, Dieter Zetsche had become too toxic for some board members to stomach.