Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, has announced the appointment of Alejandro Rodriguez Cuadra (Alex) as Head of Research & Development (R&D) at DICV.
In his new role, Alejandro will also serve as Global Head of Engineering Backbone at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, where he will focus on strengthening international engineering collaboration, harmonising processes and developing efficient global engineering structures.
Through this dual role, Alejandro will work to enhance collaboration across Mercedes-Benz Trucks, DICV and Daimler Truck Innovation Centre India (DTICI). He will also support the development of globally aligned engineering processes and further integrate India’s engineering capabilities into Daimler Truck’s global engineering network.
The appointment is aimed at strengthening DICV’s R&D capabilities while enabling greater collaboration between India-based engineering teams and Daimler Truck’s international development operations.
Most recently, Alejandro held senior leadership responsibilities within Mercedes-Benz Trucks, covering Manufacturing Engineering, Product Preparation, buildability validation, ramp-up management, series support, and R&D activities for pneumatic lines and wiring geometries across Germany and Türkiye. Across his international assignments, he has focused on strengthening cross-border collaboration, optimizing and harmonizing processes, and building effective engineering and operational structures across markets.
Alejandro has extensive international leadership experience across Europe and Asia. During his assignments in Japan and India, he strengthened the Kaizen culture, developed lean capabilities, and led strategic manufacturing initiatives. At FUSO Japan, he oversaw Production Preparation, supporting several successful vehicle launches, including the eCanter electric truck.
After earning dual degrees in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering from the Technical Universities of Madrid and Munich, Alejandro joined Daimler in 2005 as a Career Trainee at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks plant in Wörth, Germany. Over the course of his career, he has held leadership positions across Manufacturing Engineering, Powertrain Operations, Production Preparation and Ramp Management, with a strong focus on international collaboration, process optimization, lean transformation and establishing effective global operating structures.
Torsten Schmidt, Managing Director & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said, “Alejandro brings extensive international engineering experience and a strong track record in connecting teams, optimizing processes and establishing effective global setups. His leadership will further strengthen DICV’s R&D capabilities while helping us leverage the broader engineering strengths available in India. As DICV takes on an increasingly important role within Mercedes-Benz Trucks segment and the ISEAA region, his experience will be valuable in strengthening collaboration across markets and contributing to our global engineering network.”
Alejandro commented, “India has strong engineering capabilities and talent that can contribute to Daimler Truck’s global ambitions. I look forward to strengthening collaboration across DICV, DTICI and our global engineering network, while supporting the evolving needs of the ISEAA region.”
In his new role, Alejandro will help connect the engineering capabilities of DICV and DTICI with the global engineering network and priorities of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. With DICV serving as the anchor entity for the India, South-East Asia and Australia-Pacific (ISEAA) customer region, this collaboration will further strengthen the link between India’s engineering expertise and the diverse product and technology requirements of markets across the region.
