Opel Hires Consumer Goods Marketer as CMO

General Motors Co.'s Opel unit has named Tina Mueller, a former marketing executive at Germany's Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, for the newly created post of chief marketing officer. She will start on Aug. 1.

Opel says it is splitting oversight of its sales and marketing operations because brand management is a "pivotal" element of its strategy. The two functions were previously managed by Alfred Rieck, a former Volkswagen executive who left the company in January after six months in the job.

Duncan Aldred, chairman and managing director of Opel's U.K.-based Vauxhall brand, temporarily added Rieck's duties to his own. Aldred will retain responsibility for Opel and Vauxhall sales in addition to leadership of Vauxhall.

Mueller most recently was corporate senior vice president for Henkel's beauty care division in western Europe. She previously was chief marketing officer for the company's global hair, body and oral care products. In that post, Mueller won Booz Co.'s title of European CMO of the Year in 2010. She began her career at personal-care companies L'Oreal and Wella.