Aston Martin has promoted its director of brand strategy Gerhard Fourie to be director of marketing and brand strategy role in a restructure which also sees Kevin Watters become director of communications.

Fourie, who joined Aston Martin from Nissan in September 2017, will take over from Marcus Blake, director of marketing, who leaves the business with immediate effect.

He takes up the newly-expanded role with responsibility for global marketing, CRM, launch planning and the “definition and evolution of the Aston Martin and Lagonda brands”, the Gaydon-based brand said in a statement.

Watters, meanwhile, who has been with the company for 15 years, will move into his new role with the promise of a team bolstered by the arrival of Simon Strang, who joins Aston Martin from Haymarket, to look after Motorsport communications.

The newly restructured team will continue to operate under the leadership of vice-president and chief marketing officer Simon Sproule.

Sproule said: “Aston Martin is at a significant point in its history, with the revival of the Lagonda brand and the announcement that Aston Martin is the world’s fastest growing automotive brand.

“Gerhard and Kevin will continue to play crucial roles in developing and communicating the Aston Martin and Lagonda brands globally as we create a solid foundation for future growth.”

Earlier this month Aston Martin was named the world’s fastest-growing automotive brand of 2018 by Brand Finance, the leading independent business valuation and strategy consultancy.

The 2018 Brand Finance Auto & Tyres Report showed that the luxury car manufacturer’s brand value was up 268% to $3.6bn, leaping from #77 in the overall ranking to #24.

Today the brand, which is understood to be considering floatation on the London or New York Stock Exchange, saw its credit rating upgraded by S&P Global Ratings.

S&P has upgraded the company and its senior secured notes to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘, on the back of a consistent improvement in its operating and financial performance.

In 2017, Aston Martin delivered record revenues, with profits growing by a quarter of a billion pounds as unit sales exceeded 5,000 for the first time since 2008.