Gerry McGovern abruptly exits JLR
No designer exerted as much control as JLR's Chief Creative Officer. He has probably paid the price for it
Gerry McGovern, the mercurial designer at the centre of JLR’s creative process for more than 20 years, has made a sudden and unexpected exit from the firm following the appointment of P.B. Balaji as CEO earlier this month. So brutal was the departure that unconfirmed reports suggest he was ‘escorted from the building’. If true, they suggest a remarkable end to one of the most influential, era-defining careers at the firm, one that originally flourished after Tata assumed control of Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008.
McGovern is credited with overseeing some of the manufacturer’s most enduring design triumphs, including the Evoque and the Velar, but also its hugely successful interpretations of legacy designs, most notably the Range Rover and Defender. Notoriously prickly about the relative merits of less successful designs - his receptiveness to criticism regarding the Discovery’s rear-end is the source of many unpublishable anecdotes - though his influence as Chief Creative Officer is not in question, nor the results achieved during his tenure.
Indeed, Autocar India, responsible for breaking the story, acknowledges the early impression that McGovern made on Ratan Tata during his long-running tenure as chairman; a level of regard that helped cement the designer’s position at both Land Rover and later, JLR. As a consequence of his position on the Board of Directors, McGovern’s input is considered fundamental to the emerging concept of ‘House of Brands’ - the repositioning of Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar as distinct nameplates in their own right - not to mention the controversial styling overhaul of the latter as a maker of luxury EVs.
Certainly the uncompromising vision of what Jaguar’s future should look like bore all the hallmarks of a McGovern-led project, one inclined to regard the past as unnecessary baggage. But rumours of internal dissent, particularly with regard to the outsourcing of the wider rebrand, reflected a laboured gestation process - which was ultimately small potatoes in the face of withering criticism when the Type 00 was first unveiled, not just for the appearance of the prow-heavy concept, but the manner of its provocative execution.
Whether the ferocity of this response is at the root of a leadership team reshuffle is not known: JLR has so far declined to comment publicly about McGovern’s exit, though its proximity to P.B. Balaji’s arrival - formerly the CFO of Tata Motors - suggests an abrupt change of direction is on the cards. At any rate, the repercussions are likely to be felt for some time, not least in the light of Jaguar’s tentative steps toward a production start date for the all-important first model of its exclusively electric era.
According to the article, he was asked to leave with immediate effect, he's been with Land Rover/JLR for over 20 years, so something must be up.
Autocar Article here
Mandatory SniffPetrol link https://sniffpetrol.com/2018/04/17/land-rover-blam...
I think the new management are NOT enjoying the publicity around Jaguar at all.
What took place with the Type 00 is what happens when a designer is given control over everything. It is effectively the distressing of a 100+ year old automative asset, by a car designer who may or may not have got too big for JLR to manage.
It's the equivalent of if Jony Ive at Apple was allowed to take all his success from designing iMac, iPhone, iPod etc...and be allowed to pivot a whole arm of the company as a result towards extreme design.
At the end of the day, theJaguar of the early 21st century was set up to be a decent volume car manufacturer . It was not set up to be retooled as a Rolls Royce or a Bentley, producing a number of supercoupes with no visual lineage or reference point to its heritage.
There's a reason why the Chinese and Saudis buy these cars like people buy our legal or financial services. Hundred years of heritage, lots of expertise to draw on etc. The current design language throws that all away, and could be made by anyone.
So yeah - I read this as a board clash, a new owner wanting to keep the Jaguar brand as a viable volume seller, but that's my take...
To be honest the whole range is stale. The new Defender has kept them alive.
The Defender and L460 Range Rover make enough money to keep the whole of JLR afloat without any other sales if they wanted to. Maybe this is the start of the coming just becoming LR which is what Tata wanted when they bought in from Ford in 2008. It was only really Ratan Tata that was interested in keeping Jaguar alive and with him gone, the CEO gone that was linked through his whole career to Jaguar, the cyber attack and the lukewarm reception to the Jaguar concept now may be the best time to just throw the towel in. Ford couldnt make a success of it either so maybe time is just up for Jaguar.
New CEO arrives "Right, where are we with the new Jaguar?" McGovern gives him a sales pitch. New CEO want something tangible and a clearly defined plan which amounts to more than 'BELIVE!' and 'A COPY OF NOTHING!' scrawled on a NOBO board.
When Mr. McGovern is quizzed on this he gives an impression of Jack Nicholson's 'You can't handle the truth' bit.
New CEO decided no-one is bigger than the brand and kicks him out as it's obviously a s
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