- Nicolas Verneuil appointed Sales Director from 1st July
- Nicholas Thomas appointed Marketing Director from 1st July
Nissan Motor GB has announced changes to its senior management team, effective 1st July 2020.
Nicolas Verneuil has been appointed as Sales Director, following three years as NMGB Marketing Director.
With 15 years’ experience at Nissan, and a wealth of international, regional and local experience in customer and dealer-facing roles, including sales performance management and dealer marketing, Nicolas is passionate about the Nissan brand and its future products. Through WLTP, Brexit and now COVID, NMGB’s performance has been maximised through agile marketing strategies that have continued to position the Nissan brand as leaders in EVs and crossovers.
“With our brand’s renewed vitality and the recently announced transformational Nissan NEXT mid-term plan, this is a great opportunity to lead the sales team at NMGB,” said Nicolas. “Nissan already has a proven track record in electric vehicles and crossovers, which we will build on with an exciting product plan for the coming years. I look forward to working in partnership with our dealer network, fleet partners and customers across the value chain to capitalise on these opportunities.”
Taking over the Marketing Director role will be Nicholas Thomas, who has been with Nissan for eight years and returns to the UK from Japan, where he led Nissan’s Global EV Business and the worldwide launch of LEAF.
Nicholas spent his early years in Dealer Network Development and Aftersales, focussing for several years on Product Marketing, including as Head of Marketing Operations. With a broad understanding of Marketing and Sales and the global perspective – having worked in a number of countries – Nicholas returns to the UK to prepare for Nissan’s new wave of products.
Nicholas added: “I am delighted to return to my home market and join a successful team at this exciting time for Nissan. With momentum gathering around the successful Juke launch, the new Ariya electric crossover being unveiled imminently, and a new Qashqai just around the corner, Nissan is perfectly positioned to meet customer demands.”
Andrew Humberstone, managing director of Nissan Motor (GB), added: “I’d like to welcome Nic to NMGB and look forward to working with him to accelerate our operational restart here in the UK, and also congratulate Nic Verneuil on his new appointment.
“Nic replaces Andrew Sellars who will leave the business to pursue interests outside of Nissan. We would like to thank Andrew for his valued contribution over the last three years where he has worked hard to improve dealer relations, evident in our significantly improved NFDA score. His strong focus on driving retail share has improved the overall quality of business, and he has also made significant developments in our used car and e-commerce programmes. We wish him all the very best for the future.”
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About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 16,000 staff across locally based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. In 2019, Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced about 465,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, commercial vehicles and the Nissan LEAF. Pursuing a goal of zero emissions and zero fatalities on the road, Nissan is leading the field with its vision of Intelligent Mobility. Designed to guide Nissan’s product and technology pipeline, this 360 degree approach to the future of mobility will anchor critical company decisions around how cars are powered, how cars are driven, and how cars integrate into society.
For further information please contact:
Martin Bayntun Corporate, Fleet, Dealer & LCV Communications Manager, NMGB
Tel: (+44) 07989 666 412 E: martin.bayntun@nissan.co.uk
Dominic Vizor Product, Brand & Internal Communications Manager, NMGB
Tel: (+44) 07580 999 016 E: dominic.vizor@nissan.co.uk
David Jackson Communications Director, NMGB
Tel: (+44) 07966 878 665 E: david.jackson@nissan.co.uk
