• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, August 27, 2010

Jack Pitney, 47, BMW's VP marketing for the brand, was killed on Thursday, reportedly when the tractor he was riding overturned on his farm.

Pitney, who joined BMW in the mid-1990s, helped launch the Mini brand in the U.S. in 2001 when he was assigned general manager of the nascent division there.

He became head of marketing for the BMW brand in 2005, trading places with Jim McDowell.