General Motors chief global marketing executive Joel Ewanick has resigned in the latest management shuffle at the top of the carmaker. Meanwhile, one of the company’s highest-ranking designers, Dave Lyon, left the company unexpectedly last week, just days before he was scheduled to take over design at Opel/Vauxhall.

GM gave no explanation for the sudden resignation of Ewanick who had been recruited from Nissan in 2010. Before that, he was vice president for marketing of Hyundai Motor America.

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The move is the the latest in a series of changes made by GM’s chief executive Dan Akerson. Earlier this month he changed the top executives at Opel in Europe, which is expected to account for a large loss when GM reports its second-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Ewanick’s departure is seen as a sign of growing pressure on GM’s leadership team to improve the company’s performance. The company’s American sales have lagged the market so far this year. Its market share in the US fell to 18.1% in the first half of the year, compared to 19.9% during the same period in 2011.

Ewanick has been at the centre of several aggressive marketing moves, including GM’s decision to stop advertising on Facebook right before the social media site’s initial public offering. He also pushed for GM to consolidate its advertising agencies and to seek price cuts from television networks for advertising time.

GM said that its vice president for US sales and service, Alan Batey, will take over Ewanick’s global marketing duties for the time being.

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Dave Lyon was expected to take up his new position at Opel/Vauxhall on 1 August, moving from his role as boss of North American interior design and brand champion for Buick and GMC.

He was previously executive director of GM Asia Pacific design having joined GM in 1990.

Lyon’s work included the widely praised interior of the new 2013 Cadillac XTS luxury sedan, marking Buick’s transition to a modern global design theme consistent with the Opel brand, and small crossovers to broaden GMC’s line-up. He also played a significant role in designing the interior of the Chevrolet Volt.

The reason for his departure is unclear.