Mike Belk, managing director of Mercedes-Benz Customer Services, has been appointed chief executive and president of Daimler Middle East.

Stepping into Belk's old role from April 1 will be Simon Oldfield, until recently the sales director of Mercedes-Benz Cars UK.

Oldfield will have responsibility for aftersales and customer service strategy, marketing and delivery for Mercedes-Benz cars, vans and trucks, plus the group's Smart, Maybach and Mitsubishi Fuso Canter brands.

He also has local responsibility for Daimler's European Logistics Centre in Milton Keynes, which supplies spare parts to dealers in the UK and Ireland.

“Customer service is a key priority for Mercedes-Benz UK, so Simon’s understanding of the Mercedes-Benz brand and passenger car network, coupled with his proven track record in driving significant improvements in customer satisfaction and his previous experience in aftersales, made him the perfect candidate for this role”, commented Wilfried Steffen, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz UK.

“We are also delighted that our commitment to training and nurturing home-grown talent as part of our succession planning strategy has enabled us to find the ideal person within our own management team to take up this important position and continue to help drive our business forward.”