Former Thomas Built Buses president and CEO Kelley Platt’s new role with Daimler Trucks North America is that of ensuring “alignment of diversity and inclusion strategies with organizational goals,” the company announced.
Platt became the first female chief of a school bus manufacturer in January 2010 when she assumed the Thomas post. At the time, she told STN: “I hope I can serve as a role model for other women in our business and in our industry. I take that very seriously.”
She left Thomas this part March to become the general manager of Western Star trucks, another Daimler Trucks brand. She was succeeded by Caley Edgerly, who Platt hired three years prior to oversee all production.
Her new role as the chief diversity officer at Daimler will to advocate for Daimler’s Employee Resource Groups, or ERGs, which the company said now numbers more than 1,000 people. She was also named president of Western Star.
“Great companies are great places to work for all employees and DTNA embodies the concept that diverse ideas are the basis of our future success,” said Martin Daum, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks. “Kelley has served DTNA in numerous senior leadership roles since 1989; her commitment to employees and to diversity and inclusion are cornerstones of the company’s future.”
Platt said further ingraining diversity into the company’s culture will result in attracting more talent in terms of employees, as well as a “wide range of perspectives.”
“Diversity is an integral component of every successful company,” she added.
Daimler Trucks said Platt’s perspective and insights on managing teams and her leadership on diversity and inclusion topics will be significant assets for her as she oversees the Western Star manufacturing plant in Portland, Oregon.
