AvtoVAZ, the country's largest carmaker, has appointed former General Motors Co. executive Bo Andersson as its first foreign boss.
A Franco-Japanese alliance of Renault-Nissan plans to take control of AvtoVAZ, maker of Lada cars, in mid-2014.
AvtoVAZ said Tuesday that Andersson, of Swedish origin, would take over at the helm at the end of the year.
Andersson held a high-level position at General Motors, responsible for the Detroit-based carmaker's global purchasing, logistics and supply operations, before joining bus and truck maker GAZ as chief executive in 2009. He has been credited with turning around GAZ, with a cost-cutting drive which increased profits. GAZ, part of tycoon Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element group, declined immediate comment.
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