Ashley Stockwell, managing director of Virgin's central portal virgin.com, takes up the post. His remit covers the 200-plus firms in which Virgin has investments.
Stockwell said he would strive to maintain Virgin's brand positioning as a consumer champion, help recruit marketing teams and develop strategies for new and existing businesses worldwide.
An important part of his task will be to prevent damage to the Virgin brand values as it stretches into new sectors and forms more partnerships with other firms.
Last week, Virgin Energy suspended marketing activity in some areas after consumer complaints that staff at the majority stakeholder in the venture, London Electricity, used aggressive selling techniques under the Virgin Energy brand.
Stockwell, who joined Virgin Atlantic in 1991 as design manager, will also oversee the launch of Virgin Mobile in the US, where it is partnering with telecoms company Sprint, and a car hire firm in Australia. He reports to brand development and corporate affairs director Will Whitehorn.
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