Image not available

Joerg Schmalenbach

CEO

He started his career at Mercedes-Benz AG in 1984 with an apprenticeship as a body modeler. Joerg studied business administration in parallel to his business career and received his diploma/master degree in 1997; in addition he is a State-certified Mechanical Engineer. He headed areas in development logistics, purchasing, production planning and was responsible as division project manager for the convertible ramp-ups in Bremen and the JC1 cooperation project with Nissan. As Head of Assembly, Joerg ensured the production of the MRAII series in China before being responsible for all processes at BBAC and the Shunyi plant as Head of Logistics Planning. After his return to Germany, he was responsible for production control at the plant in Bremen before moving to Jawor in October 2022. His hobbies are travelling, getting to know countries and people, family and camping.

Image not available

Dirk Fleischmann

CFO

He graduated in industrial engineering at the Technical University Berlin. In 1998 he started his career at Mercedes-Benz in Ludwigsfelde.  Afterwards, he was working in several different managerial positions in Finance & Controlling in Germany, South Africa and Russia. In 2019 he took over the function as CFO Mercedes-Benz Vans LLC in Charleston, where he had an impact on transforming the site from the ramp-up phase into regular operations. In October 2023 he joined the Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Poland as Chief Financial Officer. In his free time, he likes to do sports and to travel around the world.
Image not available

Ewa Korwek

HR Director, Member of the Management Board

A graduate of German philology as well as business coach and human resources postgraduate studies. She began her career as a radio and newspaper journalist. She has worked in the automotive industry for nearly 20 years and is a co-creator of AutoForum. Her work experience includes positions such as Public Relation Manager in Volkswagen Motor Polska, HR Director in Sitech, and HR Manager in Lear Corporation. She is a lecturer at postgraduate studies, including the WSB, and a coach cooperating with Significa and IHK, among others. Her interests include the impact of national cultures on organisational cultures. Previously she worked as a HR Management Director in Relpol S.A. – a company which produces electromagnetic relays. Former competitive basketball player, today she plays tennis as a hobby.

Image not available

Urszula Czurak

Head of Controlling, Member of the Management Board

A graduate of finance and accounting. She started her professional career in 2006 in an automotive company, where she worked for 14 years. She has gone through all levels of her career, from assistant to the President, through controlling and accounting specialist, to manager. For 3 years she had the opportunity to work in Belgium, where she participated in the establishment and launch of a new production plant in Poland and the creation of the financial department. She has been employed at MBMPL since 2020, initially as Manager of the Business Models and Processes Department, and then from 2023 as Head of Controlling. Since July 2023, he has also been a Member of the Management Board of MBMPL. She likes to spend her free time with her family. She enjoys hiking and detective stories.
Image not available

Jacek Sikorski

Engine Assembly Director

Born in Poland, moved to Germany in 1989. He began his career at Mercedes as an assembly worker in 1997 and progressed from a production employee, quality control to a production manager during his 22 years with the company. Before Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Poland, for 4 years he Was involved in the project of building a Mercedes-Benz gearbox manufacturing in Romania. He is interested in motorsports

Image not available

Thomas Kaiser

Machining and Maintenance Director

Born in Poland, Kaiser moved to Germany in 1988. He holds a Business Informatics degree and is a mechanical engineering technician. He began his career at Mercedes as a foundry worker in 1992,and progressed from a production employee to a production manager during his 25 years with the company. His interests include martial arts, snowboarding and diving.

Image not available

Paul Szkoc

Director of the PB400 Battery Line

He was born in Poland in 1980. He moved to Germany in 1982 with his family where he was brought up and educated. Paul holds a masters degree from Carthage College, USA, and an Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Mannheim, Germany. He began his career at Mercedes in 2007 with Daimler Trucks then made his way through the Ph.D. program at Daimler Group Research and Development, and subsequently took on an Industrial Engineering position for the S-Class assembly in 2010. From 2013-2018, Paul lived and worked in Alabama, USA, where he held the positions of Industrial Engineer for Body & Paint and Plant Strategy and Performance for SUV production. After his return to Germany in 2018, Paul took over the function of plant performance and operational management for the CKD production network with eight plants across four continents – including a mid-term project at the plant in Mexico. In October 2021, he joined the MBMPL crew. His personal interests are playing the guitar, enjoying a wide range of music, and exploring diverse cultures.

Image not available

Marie-Claire Fogas-Braun

Director of Battery Production EB312

In 2021 she defended her PhD at the RWTH Aachen University in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz AG. Her research field in Material Science took place in the corrosion behavior of new high-strength aluminum alloys for car body applications. Her full-time contract at Mercedes-Benz AG started in 2016. At that time she was responsible for Temporary Corrosion Protection standards within all Powertrain plants. In 2019 she switched to battery production for fully electric vehicles (EQS/EQE) and was a part of the ramp-up team. As a central link between production and R&D, she led various Taskforces and acted as a deputy of the project leader for the ramp-up battery series production in Thailand. In January 2023 she joined the MBMPL team in Battery production GEN3.

Image not available

Robert Bauer

Battery Logistics Director

Robert started his career at Daimler AG in 2006 within the sales planning department and joined the powertrain for “program- & capacity management powertrain” in 2015. In 2017 he was taking over his first team leader assignment within production control transmissions in W010. From 2019 he was responsible within powertrain for production control W010 including network and disposition for in-house parts. In March 2023 he became Head of Battery Logistics in Jawor. Privately, he loves to spend time with his family and friends. Also he is passionate in triathlon sport (short distance), containing swimming, riding bicycle and running.

Image not available

Dawid Kijanka

Quality Director

A graduate of the Poznań University of Economics at the Faculty of Commodity Science. He has been associated with the automotive industry for nearly 20 years, from the beginning of his career in the quality department. He started working at the factory in Jawor in 2018 as a manager and was responsible for creating the Hot Test & Audit department. In July 2021, he took up the position of manager in the Complaint Management department, and from April 2023 he was promoted to the position of Director of the Quality Department. Privately, he spends his free time with his family. His hobbies include travelling, cooking and motorcycling.
Image not available

Jennifer Olbort 

Head of IT

She started working at Mercedes-Benz in 2016 in the IT infrastructure area in Sindelfingen and managed various IT infrastructure projects. In 2020 she became an IT project manager for product projects in ITO and was responsible for implementing application and infrastructure services to integrate new car model series in assembly factories like the EQB to Kecskemet. She has worked in MBMPL since July 2022 as the Manager of the Business Applications Team and on 01.01.2024 she became Head of IT.
Image not available

Lukas Neuweiler

Director of IPS Department

Lukas was born in 1992 in Tübingen, he grew up in Southern Germany and after stations at two different companies as well as the Cooperative State University (DHBW) he graduated in International Logistics and Supply Chain Management (M.Sc.) at the Jönköping International Business School in Sweden. In 2017, he started his Daimler/Mercedes CAReer, in the NPM Procurement for Machinery and Equipment. In 2019, after stations within Production & Series Planning in Beijing, Sindelfingen and East London he rejoined Procurement as Global Commodity Manager for Body-in-White. After an exciting tenure in Germany, he took the opportunity to join the team at MBMPL in Jawor in June 2022.

Image not available

Ewa Łabno-Falęcka

Head of Corporate Communication & External Affairs

A philologist, she defended her PhD at the University of Tübingen. She has experience in the science sector (she worked as a researcher at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and the University of Tübingen, among others), diplomacy (between 1993 and 1999, she was a cultural attaché to the Embassy of Republic of Poland in Bonn, Germany), and motorisation (in Mercedes-Benz Polska since 2000). Recipient of many industry awards, among others Golden Arrow, PRotony, “Marketing Personality of the Year: Thinking outside of the Box” (MediaRun). She was nominated twice for the European Excellence Award. Chief editor of “Magazyn Mercedes-Benz” quarterly. Awarded with “Merits for Polish transportation” order (Ministry award). She has a penchant for community work: co-creator and the first chairperson of the Global Road Safety Partnership (2006-2010) and the Society of Friends of MoMA in Warsaw (2008-2012), a Member of the Polish Superbrands Business Brands Council and the Programme Council of the Congress of Women.