Star Profile

Rob Moran – Director of Communications, Mercedes-Benz USA

Born for the Job

 
You know you’re at a Mercedes-Benz event the moment you arrive – everything is so well organized – just as the machinery being presented. Look around and you see the luminaries, the corporate icons and celebrities, though you may not notice the man in charge of it all – unless you know the man behind the scenes who orchestrates the event’s success. That person is Robert Moran, director of communications for Mercedes-Benz USA.

Much like Superman’s alter ego when not wearing his cape – mild-mannered, humble – he might be dressed in a business suit, or totally undercover in hipster garb, depending on the event and his audience. It is this “Clark Kent” that we wanted to get to know a little better, so at the recent C-Class media launch with Mt. Rainier as a backdrop in Seattle, Washington, we took a few moments to talk with him.

Youthful, in his early 40s, and strongly focused on his job, Rob is not comfortable in the spotlight – he’s actually a tad uncomfortable when it is focused on him. Father of two girls, he is more comfortable valeting his daughters’ Barbie cars in a suburban driveway or shepherding super cars in an F1 paddock, and loves doing both.

If you want to make him really comfortable, get him talking about his passion – automobiles. As a youngster, while the other boys were out playing stick and ball sports, Rob was consuming automobile content, following racing events and learning everything there was from any publication that featured a car on the cover.

Never imagining that being a car guy would be a career option, Rob studied communications at the University of Delaware, and then grasping a sheepskin, wondered what he would do for a job. When an independent ad agency posted a job for someone who could write press releases and loved cars, it seemed tailor-made for this kid from New Jersey. That first job promoting Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac brands developed into marketing jobs for Subaru and Volkswagen. Then, 14 years ago, an opportunity came for him to join Mercedes-Benz USA. It seemed like the perfect next step. He has held various positions during his tenure, and many of the people in those positions now report to him. Rob most recently headed the AMG program until he was appointed MBUSA’s communications director last August.

Rob readily admits he is not a nuts-and-bolts guy – his tool box is pretty sparse – but his library of automobile books is quite extensive; more an academic than a hands-on tinkerer, he does find time to take his vintage Porsche 911 out to regular car gatherings when he can.

When it comes to the Mercedes-Benz brand, Rob envisions his team’s role will be to develop opportunities for a brand-new wave of Mercedes-Benz vehicles to speak for themselves; to allow the luxury-automobile consumer to experience how technologically advanced and fun to drive a Mercedes-Benz vehicle can be. 

You can expect to see a lot of compelling content about some amazing vehicles emanating from MBUSA’s Communications Department in the coming years – communiques heralding a profusion of very advanced and fun-to-drive new models coming to market. Don’t expect to see Rob standing beside them, but you will see him in the driver’s seat – the driver behind some of the legendary automotive venues around the world – with a huge smile on his face.          
               
Article William West Hopper 
Image Greg Jarem