Britvic has appointed Unilever’s Kevin McNair as its GB marketing director. Starting on 5 May, McNair will replace Jonathan Gatward.

McNair joined Unilever in 1996 as a graduate trainee and has worked for the consumer goods giant ever since. Since last September, he has been based in New York as the company’s VP marketing foods North America, and before that he spent three years as its global vice president, spreads.

In his new role, McNair will report to GB general manager Paul Graham, taking responsibility for Britvic’s overall brand marketing and innovation agenda, and for driving GB category growth. He will also be a member of the business’s GB executive team and global marketing council.

“Kevin brings a wealth of experience to the business having held a variety of global, regional and local marketing roles with Unilever over an 18 year period,” said Graham. “We are confident he will add significant value to the business, driving brand value. As a member of the senior leadership team he will also be critical in continuing to push forward the transformation that is underway across the business.”

Gatward, meanwhile, is moving into Britvic’s strategic marketing and innovation team, as global category and capability director. He will support the soft drinks company’s international expansion plans and will report to chief marketing officer, Matt Barwell.

“I am delighted to welcome Kevin to Britvic and Jonathan to the global marketing team,” said Barwell. “These moves reflect the importance of marketing to our business and are set to maximise our marketing capability, strengthening our focus on brands and innovation, as we develop category leadership.”