Daimler CEO under fire for dual role: report

Daimler AG's chief executive is facing criticism in his dual capacity as group CEO and head of the Mercedes-Benz car unit, a German paper reported, citing an unnamed supervisory board member.

"The double role is unacceptable as a long-term solution," Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung quoted the member as saying in an article published on Sunday.

It further quoted the supervisory board member as saying that the 2010 operating margin target given by Zetsche for the Mercedes unit was "totally unsatisfactory," adding it should have a separate head.

The paper, without citing sources, mentioned Wolfang Bernhard, currently head of production at Mercedes, as a potential candidate to head the unit.

Bernhard, a veteran in the German automotive industry, took the job at Mercedes -- which also gives him a seat on the management board -- about a year after his return to the carmaker.

Bernhard, who has a reputation as a fierce cost cutter, was due to assume responsibility for Mercedes in 2004 before unions helped end his career at the company. He was Zetsche's right-hand man at Chrysler before Daimler sold its U.S. unit.

News about his ascendancy to a management board post at Daimler boosted shares in the German carmaker in February and fueled talk he may be chief executive Dieter Zetsche's heir apparent.

Contacted by the newspaper, Daimler said there were no plans to change the current setup.

"Dieter Zetsche is, and will remain, in charge of both (CEO and Mercedes)," a spokesman told the paper.