Mike Manley, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles new chief executive, has realigned his leadership team to appoint Reid Bigland to lead the Ram brand of trucks and vans. Bigland returns to a role he held in 2013 and 2014, when the brand saw a nearly 50% growth in sales.

Bigland retains his roles leading U.S. sales and Canadian operations.

During his earlier stint leading Ram, Bigland presided over the expansion of the bran's lineup with the introduction of the 2014 ProMaster full-size van and 2015 ProMaster City compact van to the U.S. market. Fiat had been offering European versions of the vehicles.

Bigland's arrival for a second stint comes with the introduction of a new-generation 2019 Ram 1500 and a planned refresh of the Ram 2500 and Ram 3500 Heavy Duty pickups, which are expected to arrive in the middle of 2019.

In a related move, Manley appointed Tim Kuniskis as head of the Jeep brand in North America. He will retain his current responsibilities as global head of Alfa Romeo.

"Today's announcements further align our leadership structure to the achievement of the targets set out in our five-year plan," Manley said in an email to employees. "These appointments ensure that we will maintain our focus on the highest degree of execution and excellence in each of our regions and across our functional groups."