Michael Bartsch is now Infiniti's new top U.S. executive.

Sometimes one press release doesn’t tell the entire story. Indeed, it took two separate corporate statements to figure out what happened to former Porsche Cars North America COO Michael Bartsch.

The German maker’s own terse statement suggested the 54-year-old was leaving for the proverbial “other opportunities.” Those, it turned out, were to be found at rival Infiniti, the Nissan luxury brand now launching an aggressive growth program.

“Michael Bartsch has a proven track record in the premium automotive industry and we are very pleased to welcome him to Infiniti,” said Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti Motor Co., Ltd. “Michael joins us at a time when Infiniti is going through a major transformation to prepare for a significantly expanded product portfolio and future growth. His 30-years of global automotive experience will be a great asset as we grow Infiniti’s business in the Americas.”

De Nysschen himself is a relatively recent transplant at Infiniti and, like Bartsch, had previously headed the U.S. operations of a major German automaker – in this case Audi. The South African-born executive moved to Hong Kong last year to Hong Kong last year to set up a new headquarters for Infiniti, part of its strategy to expand beyond its core U.S. market.

Infiniti has been spun off by Nissan as a separate corporate entity and given extensive new resources including its own design and engineering operations. The new Hong Kong headquarters, meanwhile, helps get the maker closer to the critical Chinese market, which is expected to surpass the U.S. by decade’s end in terms of luxury vehicle sales.

(Click Here to read about Infiniti’s Q30 concept coming to Frankfurt.)

Bartsch will succeed long-time Infiniti U.S. Chief Ben Poore, who will be leaving the auto industry entirely to launch a new career in teaching.

(Infiniti tries to steer a new course. For more information, Click Here.)

“Ben Poore has been instrumental in shaping the Infiniti brand and its growth in the Americas during the last five years. I am very grateful for his contributions, dedication and leadership during this time, and I wish him very well in his new endeavors,” said de Nysschen.

For his part, Bartsch was given credit for helping build up Porsche’s most important regional subsidiary, the U.S. operations achieving record sales in 2012, with the numbers on track to hit another peak this year.

Before the executive’s decision to move, however, Porsche was set to transfer him to Australia where he was to move up to the CEO position.