Alias, whose roles have also included marketing director for Renault Japan and marketing manager for Clio in the UK, will take up the post in January.
Responsible for a marketing budget of about £13m, Alias replaces Paul Wilcox, who was promoted to vice-president marketing, Europe, last month (Marketing, 5 October).
Wilcox was largely responsible for Nissan's 'Original drama' campaign, created by TBWA\ London.
In 2004 Nissan sold about 90,000 new cars, giving it a 3.5% market share.