Nissan promotes U.S. CMO to global role and hires a Kia marketer

Nissan promoted U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Allyson Witherspoon to lead global marketing and named Kia's Marisstella Marinkovic to the U.S. CMO role, and is also replacing the global chairman of its struggling Japanese premium brand Infiniti. Witherspoon will now lead global marketing efforts for the brand as corporate VP, global marketing, brand and merchandising, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.Read more: Allyson Witherspoon speaks with Ad Age Marinkovic takes over from Witherspoon as the Nissan brand’s VP and U.S. CMO. Her responsibilities include marketing communications and media; customer experience; and brand and product marketing for the Nissan division in the U.S. Ad Age Leading Women and Rising Stars Last call for the annual awards Enter here During Witherspoon's tenure as U.S. CMO, Nissan has been updating marketing, including its long-running Heisman House advertising and the automaker's return to the Super Bowl in 2022 with its agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. Witherspoon was named to Automotive News' list of 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry in 2020.Also read: How Nissan is using TikTok Now Most recently, Marinkovic was director of marketing operations and strategy at Kia Motor America. She joined Kia in 2019 and has more than two decades of corporate and agency experience, including roles at Innocean USA and previously at Saatchi & Saatchi, where she held multiple positions over a 16-year tenure, according to her LinkedIn profile. “With experience working with some of the largest brands in the world, Marisstella will continue to drive our efforts and deliver breakthrough campaigns for Nissan,” Michael Colleran, Nissan North America senior VP of U.S. Marketing and Sales said in a statement. Also announced Wednesday, Ponz Pandikuthira, currently VP of global marketing at Nissan Motor Company, is joining Nissan Americas as senior VP and chief planning officer. Infiniti's changes Peyman Kargar, who has led Infiniti since June 2020 and was preparing for a wide-ranging brand reboot centered on the QX80 SUV, will leave the role on March 30, the end of Nissan’s fiscal year, and be replaced by an interim head. A person familiar with the move said Kargar will be returning to France. Kargar, 55, worked at French alliance partner Renault for nearly two decades before coming to Nissan in 2017. He led Nissan’s Africa, Middle East and India operations before leading Infiniti. Olga Filippova, general manager in charge of global sales and marketing, will be acting head of Infiniti, Nissan announced on Wednesday in a personnel shuffle. Filippova joined Infiniti in 2018 and assumed her current role as Kargar’s global No. 2 in 2020. Jumpstarting Infiniti Last year, Kargar outlined plans to Automotive News to jumpstart Infiniti for a new era of growth and a belated leap into the battery-electric race. The road map included a new look for Infiniti dealerships, a new design language for its vehicles and a flurry of accents to impress customers, such as a unique Infiniti scent and signature sound. The relaunch was scheduled to coincide with the introduction of the redesigned QX80 as the brand’s flagship. A close to production Monograph prototype is set to be unveiled this year. Kargar landed at Infiniti after a period of rapid turnover at the top. He replaced Mike Colleran, who served as global brand head for only three months. Colleran had taken over from an interim chairman following the departure of previous Infiniti President Christian Meunier in 2019 to become global president of the Jeep brand. Meunier’s resignation came just four months after the departure of his predecessor, Roland Krueger. Infiniti’s global sales plunged 55% to 84,830 vehicles in 2021, from 188,990 in 2019 before the pandemic. U.S. sales, the bulk of brand volume, fell 20% to 46,619 vehicles in 2022. Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn had set a goal for Infiniti to account for 10% of the industry's global luxury market, racking up annual sales of 500,000 vehicles. At one point, Ghosn’s plan called for Infiniti to be a pioneer in luxury electric vehicles, getting an EV based on the Nissan Leaf on sale in 2014. That never happened. The brand's last major product—the redesigned QX60 midsize crossover—was delayed several months, rolling into stores in late 2021. Infiniti still has no full-electric vehicle. But two EVs for the brand are scheduled to enter production at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi, plant from 2025.—Hans Greimel is Asia Editor, based in Tokyo, for Automotive News. Ad Age contributed to this report.

Nissan promotes U.S. CMO to global role and hires a Kia marketer

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