Dr. h. c. Wilhelm Kissel.

After completing a commercial apprenticeship and attending Mannheim Commercial College, Wilhelm Kissel takes on a position as correspondent at Benz & Cie in 1904. In 1907, he joins the purchasing department and rose to the position of department head and authorised officer there. After being appointed departmental director in 1921, he devotes himself with great intensity to the reconstruction of the company following the First World War. He performs important services organising the combine with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1924, and is appointed to the joint Board of Management of Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1925. Even after the merger to the Daimler-Benz AG in July 1926, he is also part of the Board of management of the new company. From 1930, he chairs the Board meetings until he officially receives the position as “Chairman of the Board of Management” in 1937, which he perceives until his early death in July 1942. In 1933, he receives an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Darmstadt.