Nissan announced that it has hired Jesse Verstraete, currently Director of Corporate Communications for Microsoft Asia, as its new General Manager of Corporate Communications & CSR for Europe.

Reporting directly to Stuart Jackson, VP Communications, Nissan Europe, Jesse will be responsible for all Corporate Communications & CSR for Nissan across the region, including issues and crisis management, corporate profiling, thought leadership and corporate and social responsibility.

The Nissan business and brand is spearheading some of the world’s most impactful future technologies for the mass market, such as Autonomous Drive cars and Electric vehicles, and Jesse will be tasked with telling the company’s story to a corporate audience.

He will be based at the company’s European Hub in Montigny le Bretonneux, south of Paris, and joins the company on June 1st.

Jesse has worked for Microsoft as its Asia Corporate Communications leader based in Singapore for four years. Prior to that he was the company’s Senior EU Corporate Communications Manager based in Brussels where he drove the strategy and execution of Microsoft’s anti-trust, legal and policy activities, as well as Corporate Citizenship.

Stuart Jackson, VP Communications, Nissan Europe, says, “With Nissan leading the development of future technologies that will shape our world, Jesse joins us at a time when our business and brand are growing into new areas, with new stories to tell new audiences.”

Verstraete replaces Katherine Zachary, who has been appointed as General Manager of LCV Global Communications for the Renault/Nissan Alliance.