Surprise at the head of Jaguar. On Tuesday, the English company announced in a press release the arrival of Frenchman Thierry Bolloré as Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), from September 10. The ex-right-hand man of Carlos Ghosn, who became CEO of Renault for just a few months before being pushed out, has " extensive expertise in the automotive sector ," says the automaker.
Read also: Renault: the underside of the sudden ousting of the CEO
A subsidiary of Tata Motors, JLR has been managed by Ralf Speth for ten years. The strongman of the manufacturer had previously worked with several leading companies in the automotive sector, including Ford and BMW for twenty years. A graduate in economic engineering, he announced his upcoming departure from JLR in January. However, he will remain non-executive vice-president of Jaguar Land Rover. Tata Motors boss Natesan Chandrasekaran hails “ a decade of exceptional vision and leadership ” for the group.
For his part, Thierry Bolloré underlines the “ great privilege ” granted to him and says he is happy to work with Jaguar employees, “ known for their passion and their team spirit ”. “ I am very excited to join the team that continues to shape the future of this iconic company ,” he adds.
An arrival in a difficult period
This change at the helm of the manufacturer comes at a time of turmoil for the auto industry. In January, Jaguar announced the cut of 500 jobs in the United Kingdom, after an already complicated 2019-2020 financial year marked by the announcement of a restructuring plan to reduce the workforce by 5,000 positions. He wanted to save £ 5 billion by March 2021 and had decided to cut his investments for the coming year. The coronavirus epidemic disrupted sales, especially in China and Europe. More recently, in mid-June, the group announced a pre-tax loss of £ 500million between January and March, forcing it to part with 1,100 temporary jobs in the UK.
Thierry Bolloré will have the heavy task of taking over the company in this context marked by uncertainty and the fear of a second wave of the epidemic. The man is not at his first challenge: propelled deputy CEO of the Renault group following the arrest of Carlos Ghosn in November 2018, he quickly became CEO of the diamond manufacturer in January 2019. However, he did not hold a position for long: in October of the same year, he was released from the management of the company by Jean-Dominique Senard, the new chairman of the group. In question, its management methods, the poor performance of the group and internal conflicts within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors Alliance.
Less than a year later, he is again at the head of a global automotive giant. This transition is made without legal problem, Renault having given up demanding the application of its non-competition clause last November. Once again, the challenges that await him are numerous: " it will be a great privilege to lead this fantastic company through what continues to be the most trying period of our generation ", he admits in the press release announcing his arrival at Jaguar Land Rover.
