• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Two automotive marketing veterans are taking on new roles.

Matt VanDyke has been named CEO of Stellantis’ Ram brand, succeeding Tim Kuniskis, who was recently named head of American brands, North America marketing and retail strategy, Stellantis North America.

VanDyke most recently was president of Shift Digital, a digital marketing firm that works with automotive brands. Prior to joining Shift four years ago, he served as CEO of FordDirect and held several top roles at Ford Motor Co., including head of U.S. marketing; vice president of marketing, Ford of Europe; and head of global marketing, sales and service for Lincoln. 

Meanwhile, Allyson Witherspoon is leaving her role as Nissan CMO and global brand advisor to become head of marking for General Motors’ Buick and GMC brands. She replaces Suzanne Guzzo, who left the company in May.

Witherspoon is one of the first significant hires by Lin-Hua Wu, who became GM’s top marketer in October, replacing Norm de Greve, who left the company in June after three years. Wu, executive vice president, GM chief marketing and communications officer, recently appointed David Mogensen as CMO, Cadillac.

“Allyson Witherspoon knows how to build brands that people connect with," Wu said in a statement provided to Marketing Daily. "Across Nissan, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, she’s proven that bold creative ideas paired with disciplined, data-driven execution will drive strong business results. I’m confident Allyson will be successful in helping us write the next chapter for Buick and GMC.”

Nissan has not named an interim CMO, according to a spokesperson.

Witherspoon has been with Nissan for nine years, in top marketing roles both in Tennessee and Japan. She most recently returned to the company’s U.S. headquarters in April 2025 to resume the CMO spot under Vinay Shahahni.  

Shahani subsequently left Nissan in September for a top marketing job at AT&T in Texas in order to be closer to his family. Nissan veteran Michael Soutter briefly took over Shahani’s position before Tiago Castro was appointed to fill the role in January. 

Both VanDyke and Witherspoon were MediaPost Automotive Marketers of the Year in 2021 (VanDyke) and in 2022 (Witherspoon).

Meanwhile at Stellantis, Branden Coté has been named Jeep CEO. Coté succeeds Bob Broderdorf, who will be taking medical leave. 

Coté joins Jeep with two decades of experience leading both OEM and dealer retail operations, most recently at AutoNation, where he was brand president.

Both Coté and VanDyke report to Kuniskis.