TOKYO-- Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it had named Roland
Krüger, a BMW executive, as head of its Infiniti luxury car
division, moving swiftly to fill one of the positions left vacant
by the pending departure of Andy Palmer, a top Nissan manager.
Mr. Krüger, most recently a senior vice president at BMW, has
served in a variety of positions with the German luxury car maker,
including product planning and marketing posts and president of its
Japan unit.
"He brings unique leadership skills that will accelerate
Infiniti's progress in the global premium market," said Carlos
Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan, in a statement.
Nissan has been trying to turn around Infiniti, which has
struggled in the global market against German luxury brands like
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, as well as Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus
division.
Infiniti has been subject to considerable turnover in the
executive suite. Mr. Palmer was overseeing Infiniti on an interim
basis, after the departure of the division's chief, Johan de
Nysschen, this summer.
Mr. De Nysschen, who had served in that job for only two years,
left to take the top job at General Motors Co.'s Cadillac unit,
while Mr. Palmer is set to take over as chief executive of Aston
Martin Lagonda Ltd., the British sports car maker.
While these and other departures from Nissan have raised concern
among analysts about an exodus of talent, Mr. Ghosn has also touted
recruits from other auto makers. The appointment of Mr. Krüger adds
another name to the auto maker's list of multinational
executives.
Mr. Krüger, a German national, has also worked for Mitsubishi
Motors Europe and Daimler Group.
Write to Eric Pfanner at eric.pfanner@wsj.com
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