Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes Formula One team announced a major shake-up, with Austrian Toto Wolff arriving from rivals Williams as significant minority stakeholder and executive director.
The parent company Daimler said in a statement that Wolff, who will retain his shareholding in Williams where his Scottish wife Susie is a development driver, will also take over coordination of all of Mercedes motorsport activities,
The latter role was previously held by Norbert Haug, whose departure was announced last month.
Austrian Niki Lauda, the retired triple champion and non-executive chairman of Mercedes GP, will also acquire a 10 percent stake in the team in a management trio completed by principal Ross Brawn.
Wolff will own a 30 percent stake, with his and Lauda's shares effectively those previously held by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Aabar Investments after they were sold back to Daimler in November.
Asked about a potential conflict of interest, with Wolff holding shares in two competing teams, a Mercedes source said one role was executive while the Williams involvement was purely as an investor.
The publicly quoted Williams Grand Prix Holdings said in a separate statement that Wolff would relinquish his seat on the company's board with his responsibilities shared between members of the team's executive committee.
The departure of the 40-year-old, who says he is leaving on good terms, will be a blow to former champions Williams, with the Austrian acting as right-hand man to team founder and principal Frank Williams last season.
Mercedes signed 2008 world champion Hamilton from McLaren for this season, with Germany's Nico Rosberg their other driver, while Williams have Wolff's protege Valtteri Bottas of Finland in their lineup.
