Nissan has promoted Paul Willcox, currently managing director for the brand in the UK, as its new senior vice president of sales and marketing for its European operations.

Willcox will take up the role on July 1 and Nissan will announce the successor to head up Nissan’s UK operations “in due course”.

He will replace Simon Thomas, who is leaving the company after 20 years, to pursue a career outside Nissan.

Willcox joined Nissan in 1992 and has since held a number of senior positions within the company at both the national and regional level. He will initially work between the UK and Nissan International SA based in Rolle, Switzerland before transferring to Switzerland permanently on August 1, 2011.