Thierry Bollore steps down as Jaguar Land Rover CEO
Thierry Bolloré drew up wide-reaching transformation plan for Jaguar Land Rover
Ex-Renault boss leaves Gaydon after less than two years for personal reasons; Adrian Mardell becomes CEO
Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bolloré is stepping down from the role, less than two years after arriving at the Gaydon company.
His departure was attributed to “personal reasons” and will take effect officially on 31 December 2022. As of today (16 November), CEO responsibilities will be taken on by chief financial officer Adrian Mardell, who has been at the firm since 1990 and joined the company board in 2019.
Bolloré's departure comes less than two years after he announced a dramatic and wide-reaching transformation plan for the company under the 'Reimagine' banner, focused on electrifying the product line-up, decarbonising its operations and boosting the quality of the cars it builds.
The strategy was headlined by the repositioning of Jaguar as an all-electric luxury brand from 2025, and by the axing of the marque's then-imminent electric XJ luxury saloon, which had already reached an advanced stage of development. As part of Reimagine, Bolloré said every Land Rover would be offered with an electric powertrain by the end of the decade.
Bolloré most recently appeared at JLR's third quarter financial presentation, where he warned that the ongoing semiconductor supply crisis would take "years" to resolve, amid a backdrop of towering order books (the company says it has a record 205,000 currently to fulfil), rising production costs and supply chain difficulties.
JLR narrowed its losses to £173 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared with £302m in the same period last year and £524m in the second quarter, but a huge surge in demand for its new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models put a strain on its restricted production capacity.
A statement from JLR parent company Tata Motors said: “Mr Thierry Bolloré has today tendered his resignation as the Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc, UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company due to personal reasons.
“Consequent upon cessation of his aforesaid employment with JLR, Mr Thierry Bolloré has resigned as Non-Executive Non-Independent Director of Tata Motors Limited."
In a statement sent to Autocar, Bolloré said: "I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together at Jaguar Land Rover over the last two years. The company's transformation and acceleration towards a sustainable, profitable future as a modern luxury business is under way at great pace.
"I would like to thank the whole team for their dedication and passion and I wish the entire organisation the very best for the future.”
Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said: "I want to thank Thierry for everything he has done at Jaguar Land Rover. The foundations for a successful transformation have been laid, leaving the company well poised for the future."