Here’s a story of two names, one very persuasive dad, and a 1926 merger that changed the motoring world.
Back in 1885/86, German engineer Karl Benz built what’s considered the first “true” automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, through his company, Benz & Cie., based in Mannheim.
Meanwhile, “Mercedes” wasn’t a car designer at all. She was a little girl. Mercédès Jellinek was the daughter of Emil Jellinek, an Austrian businessman, diplomat and unapologetic car nut. Jellinek was such a big customer of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach (remember that name!), that he raced their cars himself, under the name “Mercedes,” and kept pushing DMG to build faster, better cars.
Around 1900, Jellinek commissioned DMG to design a new car, largely engineered by Wilhelm Maybach. He offered to buy a big batch of them and lock in exclusive sales rights across several markets, but only on one condition: the new model had to be named “Mercedes,” after his daughter. Best deal a dad ever made!
DMG agreed and by 1902, “Mercedes” was officially trademarked as a brand name.
For decades, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. battled it out as fierce rivals. But hard economic times ahead of the Great Depression forced them to join forces in 1926, forming Daimler-Benz AG. The new company’s cars were branded “Mercedes-Benz,” and the three-pointed star became its badge, one that still turns heads on driveways nearly a century later.
Maureen Jordan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) and a Law Degree (Honours) and has carved a niche in the media to balance her world of work and family.
Her company, the Switzer Group, owns divisions in media and publishing and financial services.
During her 25 year involvement in media and publishing, Maureen has held Editor in Chief roles for esteemed publications such as Charter Magazine for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and has authored several books including Women Entrepreneurs, which she wrote for the Federal Office of Women, Small Business Start Up Guide published by Allen & Unwin and Finding And Managing Your Mortgage, Wiley Publishing.
As group publisher of Switzer Media & Publishing, Maureen has initiated and managed the publication of specialty books, magazines and content for some of the country's leading organisations. Clients include Optus, the Mortgage & Finance Industry Association, IBM, Hewlett Packard, the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, AMP, IP Australia, Yahoo 7, the University of NSW and law firm Griffith Hack.
Switzer Media & Publishing holds the Australian & New Zealand licence for Harper’s Bazaar and Maureen is the Publisher of both the monthly magazine and the Harper’s Bazaar website.
Such is Maureen's commitment to business that in 1996 she was inducted into the Australian Business Women's Hall of Fame in Melbourne, as well as being a finalist in the Sydney Business Review's Business Women of the Year 2003.
Early in her career, Maureen taught in both the secondary school system - public and private - as well as teaching at the University of New South Wales.
Maureen's knowledge of small business and the economy, combined with her legal skills as a solicitor, has enabled her to not only put a firm footing under her own long-established business, but has also given her the credibility to assist others.
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