Kia has announced the appointment of Lawrence Hamilton to the role of marketing director, Kia Motors UK Limited with immediate effect.

Hamilton joined Kia in 2004 as general communications manager and has spent the last eight years significantly contributing to the development and awareness of the brand in the UK. Lawrence replaces Simon Hetherington who moved to the newly created position of dealer development director.

Commenting on the appointment, Michael Cole, managing director, Kia Motors UK Limited said: “Lawrence is an excellent marketeer with a wealth of automotive experience. He has been at the forefront of changing the UK car buying public’s perceptions of Kia for the last few years and will make a great addition to the Senior Management Team – I’m very pleased to welcome Lawrence to his new role.”

Hamilton said: “I’m delighted to take on the challenge of further developing one of the world’s fastest growing automotive brands in the UK. It’s a really exciting opportunity and it’s great to know that I have such a capable and stable team behind me. We’ve made significant progress in the sphere of digital marketing of late and we’ll aim to continue our focus on this into the future.”