Tesla is hiring Simon Sproule, a veteran of Carlos Ghosn’s Renault-Nissan alliance to manage its marketing and message as it prepares to push into China.

Simon Sproule, 45, director of communications for Renault-Nissan, said he’ll become vice president of communications and marketing for Tesla in April.

The move takes Sproule from the world’s biggest seller of battery-powered cars to Elon Musk’s Tesla, which seeks that title with increased sales of Model S sedans and planned additions to its all-electric lineup.

Liz Jarvis-Shean, a Tesla spokeswoman, also confirmed the hiring and declined to elaborate.

The addition of Sproule, who has spent more than 20 years at Nissan, Ford and its former Jaguar brand, as well as a stint at Microsoft Corp., coincides with Musk’s push to move Tesla from startup status to a competitive global automaker.

Sproule’s past posts in the UK, United States, Japan and France as well as his knowledge of the global auto industry may benefit the youngest publicly traded U.S. carmaker.