Marinoff takes reins of Alpine Cars worldwide

ALPINE Cars has appointed former global Mercedes-Benz executive Patrick Marinoff as managing director, charged with leading the Renault-owned sportscar brand’s “next chapter of its rebirth”.

A German native, Mr Marinoff began his career at Daimler in the late 1990s, serving for two years in marketing strategy before becoming executive assistant to the chief executive, which included almost five years under Juergen Schrempp and six months under Dieter Zetsche.

In mid-2006, Mr Marinoff then took on a senior leadership role as global brand manager for Daimler’s Maybach luxury marque, and after six-and-a-half years was tapped to become head of brand appearance for Mercedes-Benz.

The latter handed him responsibility for the overall corporate architecture of the German prestige brand worldwide, across the retail network, fairs, events, and so on.

In 2014, Mr Marinoff was promoted to head of sales for Mercedes’ performance division AMG, a role which also saw him responsible for dealer network development.

He was also made a member of the executive board at Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and was in the position for almost six years before making the move to Alpine.

In announcing the appointment, Groupe Renault executive vice-president of global marketing Francois Renard said he was “very happy” to welcome Mr Marinoff to the team, acknowledging his “wealth of experience in the management of iconic brands”.

“His knowledge and passion for sportscars will be a great asset and driving force to grow and develop the Alpine brand and business,” Mr Renard added.

Mr Marinoff succeeds Sebastien Erphelin, who had served as acting managing director for the past 18 months and continues in the role of program and product planning director.