Nissan’s NISMO global sales chief Darren Cox has announced his departure after serving almost 20 years with the company.

Cox was instrumental in Nissan’s controversial and troubled Le Mans 24 Hour bid this year with its radical LMP1 LM GT-R NISMO front-engine, front-wheel-drive cars.

As the head of NISMO’s global sales, marketing and brand effort, Cox also saw the implementation of what has become the highly successful GT Academy and oversaw Nissan’s Bathurst 12 Hour win earlier this year.

NISMO’s restructure comes amid ongoing talks with Nissan Australia boss Richard Emery over the company’s V8 Supercars future beyond 2016.

In a prepared statement released by NISMO, Cox said: “The decision to leave Nissan and the Alliance was not an easy one.

“I have enjoyed a great many years working on some amazing projects with great people and have thrived on the challenges, successes and even failures, in equal measure.

“I have seen GT Academy grow from a small European initiative to now embracing countries representing half the world’s population.

“I am equally proud of successes such as participating in the launch of Juke, managing marketing for Qashqai in Europe and being part of the team working to expand the NISMO Brand.

“While I am excited to take a new direction in my career, there is much that I will miss about my time with Nissan and I wish everyone all the best for the future.”

Earlier this month Ben Bowlby was removed from the role as NISMO’s LMP1 team principal although he remains on attached to the WEC program in a technical capacity.