Roger Neilsen

After 38 years in the commercial vehicle industry in North America and Europe, Roger brings his passion for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and autonomous driving to the board of NODAR. A 35-year veteran of Daimler, he took over as the Daimler Truck North American CEO in 2017, and drove their truck, school bus, and specialty vehicle sales to an industry-leading $20B annually with profitable results in the range of 11-13% return on sales. Under Roger’s leadership, their Freightliner brand brought ADAS to the forefront of heavy duty trucking and was recognized with the “Best Transportation Technology” award at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show for their Level 2 automated driving system.With Daimler, Roger was active in the acquisition, merger or divestiture of over 40 firms across the automotive sector, including firms developing emergency vehicle apparatus, buses, telematics, and most recently, battery electric vehicles and autonomous driving systems.Roger began his career in the Electro-Optics and Data Systems Group of Hughes Aircraft Company, developing technology in the then emerging infrared imaging and laser optics industry. He is a registered professional engineer, earning his bachelor’s degree at Oregon State University.