Nissan North America sales chief leaves company

DETROIT (Reuters) -- Nissan North America said on Friday its chief of sales and marketing, Brad Bradshaw, has been replaced by Mark McNabb, who becomes the third executive in that position in the span of a year.

Nissan spokeswoman Frederique La Greves said Bradshaw's decision was a personal one. She could not provide any detail on his next move, but said he left the company Friday.

McNabb most recently held the position of corporate vice president at Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and will remain head of the Infiniti global business, the company said.

The move marks the latest executive departure for Nissan's North American unit, which moved its headquarters to Tennessee from California last year.

The automaker lost about a dozen of its top executives when it made the move, including its then-chief of sales and marketing, Jed Connelly, who opted to retire in July.

Nissan's growth has slowed in the United States, which is its largest market. Its U.S. sales fell 5.3 percent to 1.02 million vehicles in 2006, marking its first annual decline in the U.S. market in five years.