Renault UK has welcomed a new managing director today following the departure of Thierry Sybord.

Sybord, highly respected for the way he managed the reorganisation of Renault UK's operation over the last two years, has been promoted to a new European role with the carmaker.

Heading Renault UK since this morning is Ken Ramirez, who joins from alliance partner Nissan.

Ramirez (pictured above) was managing director of Nissan Latin America and the Caribbean, responsible for Nissan and Infiniti operations spanning 37 countries.

Ramirez said: "Under Thierry's leadership, Renault UK has made significant progress through its business evolution plan, at both company and dealer levels.

"I look forward to continuing to rebuild our brand value and market presence in the months ahead. With six great new models to launch within less than six months, including the stunning new Renault Clio and the introduction of the Dacia brand and its initial line-up of Duster, Sandero and Sandero Stepway, we are clearly affirming our commitment to our loyal and new customers as well as to our partners in the dealer network. I’m eager to get to know the UK market and confident of the exciting future for our Renault and Dacia brands in the UK."

He joined Nissan in 2002 following more than 10 years at Motorola’s Automotive Electronics and Telematics Communications groups, and has has held various roles at Nissan Technical Centre North America, Nissan Technical Centre Japan, Nissan North America, Nissan Mexicana and Nissan Latin America and the Caribbean.

Born in Puerto Rico, he has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and has more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry in US, Japan, Mexico and Latin America, with leadership roles in R&D, program management, corporate planning and sales and marketing.