Diverse and global: Thomas Laubert, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Daimler Truck, speaks about the interdisciplinary work of the legal department in the "be a mover talk" with Jörg Howe

• The "be a mover talk" with Jörg Howe is a discussion format with guests who make a difference to change things for the better.
• The format runs on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pZsdZuZT98Y

Stuttgart. As an independent company with a stock exchange listing, Daimler Truck receives high attention, both from society and politics, but also from the capital market, its customers and employees. In order to strengthen trust in the group, its products and services, legal and compliance aspects are relevant levers and a strong in-house legal and compliance department is of central importance.

To better understand the work of the Daimler Truck lawyers, Jörg Howe, Head of Global Communications at Daimler Truck AG, spoke in the "be a mover talk" with Thomas Laubert, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Daimler Truck AG. The topic was interdisciplinary collaboration with other functional areas, as well as the diverse job and development opportunities for employees.

"As auditors, lawyers and compliance manager, we are part of the entire product development process," says Thomas Laubert, summarizing what distinguishes the activities of a corporate lawyer from working in a law firm. His team not only has a comparatively close proximity to the company's individual products and services, their everyday work is also mainly characterized by interdisciplinary cooperation with colleagues from a wide range of disciplines, such as developers, production employees or communicators. Therefore, the department is also in close contact with the corporate communications team headed by Jörg Howe. The lawyers benefit from the mutual exchange just as much as the communicators do.

Working at Daimler Truck is particularly attractive for lawyers who are interested in a broad variety of legal aspects. As an example, Thomas Laubert points to his own career: "In a law firm, you are usually responsible for one topic. I have already worked in ten different positions at Daimler, for example in corporate law, public law, criminal law or antitrust law. Furthermore, I have led investigations and conducted audits."

In addition to the wide range of tasks, the international orientation also makes the work so exciting. Thomas Laubert, who worked for Daimler in the U.S. for many years, especially appreciates the diversity in the company: "We have a very diverse team because we really do work together globally in an agile, connected and interdisciplinary way."

As head of the entire legal, compliance and audit team at Daimler Truck AG, Thomas Laubert focuses intensively on the topic of digitalization. The strong focus on digital workflows also allows the company to seek talents flexibly and around the globe: "You do not have to work for us on-site on the campus in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, even though I personally really appreciate the social and personal exchange."

As a globally acting company, Daimler Truck is dealing with complex regulations and specifications that differ from region to region. When it comes to legally complex issues such as ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) reporting, for which Thomas Laubert is also responsible, many areas, such as the development and production departments, are working together worldwide and interdisciplinary. This is particularly relevant against the background that investors, non-governmental organizations and the general public show great interest in the topic of sustainability.

Thomas Laubert finds one aspect particularly interesting: "My main task with regard to ESG is the topic of governance. How do we set up committees, who is responsible for what, how do you ensure that risks are seen in the areas of compliance and overall reporting?"

Thomas Laubert is in favor of the Supply Chain Act, which comes into force in Germany at the beginning of January 2023 and defines corporate responsibility for human rights compliance in supply chains: "I believe the Supply Chain Act is a useful development. At Daimler Truck, we began early to set up systems to monitor our supply chain. Other companies are now doing the same."

Questions like these motivate Thomas Laubert to work at Daimler Truck and ensure that his work is not boring. When asked in conclusion what he would like to see from Daimler Truck and his colleagues, he says: "I would like us to maintain the start-up mentality that I feel right now."