John Martin to Head Renault-Nissan Manufacturing/Purchasing

The Renault-Nissan alliance has appointed John Martin, who currently heads Nissan Motor Co.'s North American manufacturing efforts, as its executive vice president for manufacturing engineering and supply chain management.

In his new role, which is effective Oct. 1, Martin will be charged with accelerating the integration and synergies of Renault, Nissan and new partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Martin will report to Renault chief competitive officer Thierry Bollore and his Nissan counterpart, Yasuhiro Yamauchi.

Martin succeeds Jerome Olive, who asked to be relieved from operational duties for personal reasons, according to the alliance. Olive initially will help establish a new development institute for the alliance before transitioning to an unspecified new role.

Heath Holtz, currently vice president of manufacturing for Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn., will succeed Martin. Jeff Younginer, currently director for product quality at Smyrna, will replace Holtz.