Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) has named Johan de Nysschen chief operating officer of the Volkswagen brand's North American region. He starts in this newly created role 1 October. He will report to Scott Keogh, head of Volkswagen Group of America.

VW says the COO role will streamline the executive reporting structure and let the brand better coordinate and align operations in the region. VW created the regional structure in 2016 to let the teams closest to the business make more of the decisions that affect the brand in the US, Canada and Mexico. The goal was to increase efficiencies across the region and develop products tailored to the markets, including the bigger Tiguan, the mid-size Atlas SUV and the upcoming Atlas Cross Sport, a five-seat, mid-size SUV.

Johan, 59, will apply his 30 years of experience, including 20 with the VW Group, to the execution of the brand's strategy and overall operational excellence.

"This industry, and this brand, are at a transformative moment," said Scott Keogh, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "Johan will help make us faster, better and smarter. He'll speed our decision-making and dive deep into our day-to-day business so we can continue to make this brand matter again."

Johan brings more than 20 years with the Volkswagen Group where he led Audi to success in markets including South Africa, Japan and the US, Johan comes to VW most recently from General Motors, where he was president of the Cadillac division. Before GM, Johan led the Infiniti brand globally.