Sara Gielen
Plant manager and head of production, Mercedes-Benz plant Sindelfingen

Sara Gielen completed an engineering degree in production mechanics and began her professional career in 1997 at a metalworking company in Herk de Stad, Belgium. In 2000, she joined Ford Motor Company and significantly contributed to the industrial parks in Genk and Cologne. In 2002, she earned an Executive MBA. This was followed by several managerial positions in production before she took over the production management of the assembly in Genk in 2012. Subsequently, she led the assembly from 2015 and the press and body shop from 2019. From 2020, Sara Gielen successfully served as the deputy head of the Ford plant in Cologne. From 2021 to 2023, she was responsible for the plant management in Saarlouis, overseeing more than 4,500 employees. Since July 1, 2024, Sara Gielen has been the plant manager and head of production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, one of the most traditional vehicle plants of the Mercedes-Benz Group AG with over a hundred years of history.