The head of marketing for BMW of North America, Jack Pitney, has tragically died in a car accident.

Mr Pitney, who was shortly going to take on the position of vice president for BMW’s eastern region, BMW’s largest US sales zone, was on holiday when his car crashed.

BMW has not given any further details of the accident but said Mr Pitney would be sadly missed as a man who had the right personality for the job he was in.

He was described as: "Fun in spirit but also very serious about getting it done right."

Pitney joined BMW as its head of corporate communications and made his mark as a member of a team of executives who convinced BMW’s management team to import the Mini to North America.