Infiniti F1 Robs Lotus of Tommaso Volpe for Global Director

Lotus' loss is Infiniti's gain as the company taps former Lotus executive Tommaso Volpe to head up its Formula One racing division. The new Global Director of Formula One will take his position on September 1 and be based in Hong Kong, reporting directly to Vincent Gillet, Infiniti Vice President, Global Marketing.

Volpe has been the head of global marketing and retail merchandising at Lotus in the United Kingdom. He will replace Andreas Sigl, who is headed for a new, as yet unannounced assignment in Nissan.

Volpe most recently worked for Lotus Cars UK where he re-launched the Lotus brand, developed integrated marketing, sales and PR plans, and activated the sponsorship with the Lotus Formula One Team. Prior to that, Volpe worked for Ferrari in Italy as Corporate Marketing Manager. Volpe is Italian and holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Università Federico II in Naples, Italy.

Infiniti is Title Partner and Vehicle Performance Partner of Infiniti Red Bull Racing. It has a far-reaching technical collaboration with the Formula One team. Sebastian Vettel, its four-time World Champion driver, serves as Infiniti’s Director of Performance. In his new capacity, Volpe will be responsible for developing and executing Infiniti’s global Formula One activation strategy.

Given Volpe's strong background in performance cars and Formula One, he is a natural fit for the Infiniti Red Bull team.