Mercedes-AMG Has a Bold, High-Powered Future on the Horizon

Michael Schiebe's list of current—and past—job titles is extensive. He is the chairman of the board of management of Mercedes‑AMG, the performance arm of the company, and head of Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class and Mercedes‑Maybach business units, its super-luxury brand. This list is reflective of the 41-year-old's ambition to drive significant change for the betterment of each of the company's properties that he touches.

At a young age he, "fell in love with Mercedes," Schiebe told Newsweek, saying that the W211 E-Class is the model he swooned over the most. Following his mandatory German military service, Schiebe secured a spot in Mercedes' university program, which allowed him to earn a degree in economics while studying for a future with the automaker, working in different departments and building a network within the company.

He said: "I had the opportunity to learn what I like and what I don't like. It was clear that procurement was not [going to be] my profession. But I was always into technology and cars. As a small boy, I was amazed by AMG cars. I studied economics but since I was always the technology guy, when I had to write my diploma thesis, I contacted one of the senior research and development managers and asked him if I could write about his department."

The more he learned, the more he was intrigued. By the time he submitted his thesis, the manager had offered Schiebe a job on his team. He worked there for two years, hands-on in the early stage of product development.

"I like innovations. I like future technologies. At that time, the engineering department wanted workers to be a part of one vehicle development life cycle before they could become a manager. For me, that was a little bit too slow," he said.

Schiebe began looking for his next career step at the advent of the financial crisis. He became a project manager for a new Mercedes cost-saving program focused on capital and revenue optimization, a move he said set him up for future roles because he got an overview of the financials and learned how all the departments worked together.

After the financial crisis, Mercedes began investing in electric vehicle development, and Schiebe changed jobs again.

"No one was really interested, to be very honest, in electric cars," he said. The department was small, with only two vehicles in its portfolio, the Smart Electric Drive and the Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive, which was done in partnership with Tesla."

In that small, scrappy department, he had the ability to grow, cross-managing many efforts working in product management.

Three years later, Ola Källenius, then the Mercedes board of management member for marketing and sales, was seeking a new chief of staff. Schiebe put in an application and was invited to interview for the position. Though it was scheduled on a Friday for 30 minutes, the interview was over in eight.

Schiebe said: "I said to myself, 'Was I really that bad?' because he asked me a few questions and said, 'We will have a look at some other candidates and then we're gonna call you.'"

Half an hour later, Källenius' assistant called Schiebe and said, "You're starting on Monday."

Schiebe worked for Källenius for two years in that role. During that time, Källenius explained to him that if he wanted a further sales and marketing career, he needed to go abroad and get experience.

Schiebe was sent to Luxembourg, becoming the head of Mercedes business there. "That was one of the most exciting positions I have had in my career. Luxembourg was the only country where we had a wholesale organization together with a retail organization," he said. "I was then, at the age of 32, the CEO of this little company."

He oversaw the company's efforts selling passenger cars, trucks, vans and buses in the country. Schiebe's office was on the first floor of a showroom. Continuous discussions with salesmen allowed him to learn more about retail operations.

"I want[ed] to understand firsthand, what is working well, what's not. How do you do an offer? How do we work with your customers?" he said.

Two years later, Schiebe moved to Sweden to run a new Mercedes direct sales initiative, Retail of the Future. After eight months he was transferred to Berlin as head of sales and marketing for the German market.

Then he got a call. "'Michael, I took over as the CEO of the company and I need to have a chief who knows me.' So then I joined Ola again," Schiebe said.

Schiebe spent two more years by Källenius' side, absorbing as much as he could along the way. The AMG head said: "I was then part of all the board meetings, because my team was organizing all the board and supervisory board meetings. So, I got the full picture. And again, was very close to product, because Ola is a product guy like I am, and so he loves to talk about technology. Then, I got the greatest opportunity of my career, my current job. And I just love my current job."

Schiebe's passion for the AMG product is key to this love. "I really, really love AMG and the team here. I think I work best when I have a team around me that is also passionate about what they do. At AMG, 65 percent of my team is engineers, and they have this passion and always come up with creative ideas, and they have the motivation to really beat the competition," he said. "This is what motivates me."

Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group and 2024 Visionary Disruptor of the Year, told Newsweek: "If there's anyone who can take the wheel and steer AMG toward even greater success, it's him. Michael dares to make bold decisions without compromising AMG's core values—safeguarding the brand that makes customers' hearts race faster."

After two years at AMG's helm, Schiebe's vision will begin to come to life publicly in 2026. "Next year we will start, I would say, the biggest product offensive AMG has seen in the last decade. This is why I'm working day and night, because I can't wait until these cars hit the road," he said.

The brand head describes future product as "bolder and more emotional" than current and past AMG models, and they will be a mix of battery-electric and internal combustion engine vehicles. He also teased, "We will be conquering new positions and new segments that we haven't entered so far."

Schiebe's big plans for AMG stretch beyond its traditional model, design and technology boundaries, and are what has positioned him as Newsweek's 2025 Visionary of the Year.

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