Daniel Zittel
Chief Sales Officer Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks | Daimler Truck AG
Daniel Zittel heads Sales and Business Innovation for the Defence business within Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks (MBS), operating mainly through a Direct Sales model.
He joined Daimler in 2004 and has held various roles in Sales & Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Trucks across Europe and China. His career includes assignments in Luxembourg, Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Berlin, where he led Used Trucks for six years before taking over New Truck Sales Germany.
In 2022, Daniel became CEO of Daimler Trucks & Buses (China) Ltd., managing the Mercedes-Benz Trucks import business and integrating it into the joint venture BFDA. At the end of 2024, he returned to Germany to lead the growing Defence business of Daimler Truck before assuming his current role as Director and Chief Sales Officer for Daimler Truck Defence & Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks.
Daniel holds a Diploma in Industrial Engineering (Berlin, 2004).
Previous positions:
• Director, Chief Sales Officer, Daimler Truck Defence & Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks – Since 2026
• Senior Manager, Head of Defence Sales, Daimler Truck – 2024
• Senior Manager, CEO - Daimler Trucks and Buses China (DTBC) – 2022
• Senior Manager, Head of Sales MB Trucks Germany, Daimler Truck – 2019
• Senior Manager, Head of Used Trucks Germany, Daimler Truck – 2013
• Head of TruckStore Hamburg, Daimler Truck – 2010
• Executive Assistant Sales & Marketing MB Trucks, Daimler Truck – 2007
• Chef des Produits Véhicules Industriels, Mercedes-Benz Luxembourg SA - 2004
Main Stage
Ready for Action in Any Situation: Resilient Partnerships Between the Private Sector and the Armed Forces
What are the prerequisites for ensuring that civil-military logistics chains function reliably—both in routine operations and during military emergencies? In this panel discussion, participants will draw on best practices and lessons learned from collaborations to demonstrate which models work between civilian actors and military users. They will discuss roles and responsibilities, relevant standards, secure and efficient data and interfaces, as well as the necessity of information exchange. Findings from a recent study by BVL and strategy& on defense logistics among logistics service providers will complement the discussion. The session provides guidance on how to approach civil-military partnerships in a way that ensures resilience, legal and cybersecurity compliance, and technological interoperability, in order to derive clear priorities for investment, partner selection, and implementation.