He replaces Mike Moran, who has left the company to take up the new role of worldwide marketing and strategy director at Thames Water.
Philpott is a veteran of motor marketing. He joined Toyota in 1997 as general manger of vehicle marketing and was promoted to marketing director in August 1999. Prior to this, he was with Ford for nine years, where he also worked in sales and marketing.
His first project will be the March launch of the new UK-built Toyota Avensis.
Moran joins Thames Water following its acquisition of American Water, the largest privately owned water company in the US. It now has operations in 46 countries, including Germany and China. During his time at Toyota, Moran was named as the 31st most powerful executive on the UK marketing scene by Marketing magazine.
Bill Alexander, chief executive of Thames Water, said: "We are now looking to build on our position as the world's third-largest water company by developing even stronger partnerships with the communities we serve. To do this, we recognise that we need to further enhance our marketing and strategy skills, and Mike will be crucial to this process going forward."
Thames Water is owned by the German utilities group RWE, having acquired it in 2000 as part of a 拢4.2bn deal.
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