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In a surprise announcement on November 16, Jaguar Land Rover announced the imminent departure of its CEO, Thierry Bolloré, set to depart on December 31 after just two years in the top job. Personal reasons were cited for his departure, but various sources within the industry have suggested that the move is in fact prompted by the company’s continuing struggles with production in the face of the industry-wide microchip shortage.
M Bolloré began his career with Michelin, moving to OEM supplier Faurecia before joining Renault in 2012, where he became CEO in 2018. He would eventually be dismissed by Renault in the wake of the Carlos Ghosn scandal as it tried to distance itself from the fugitive former boss and his allies.
Bolloré’s immediate replacement is former Chief Financial Officer, 32-year Land Rover veteran Adrian Mardell who becomes Interim Chief Executive Officer. What the change at the top will mean for the ‘Reimagine’ strategy announced under Bolloré’s leadership back in February 2021 remains to be seen. So-called because of its deep reimagining of the brand, the Reimagine strategy sees Jaguar become a premium all-electric brand by 2025 with vehicles using the all-new ‘Panthera’ platform currently in development.
Industry observers have pointed out that during his two years at the helm, JLR failed to deliver a single profitable quarter, but this is countered by the unavoidable fact that as a relatively small player in the global automotive industry JLR is in a weak position when it comes to acquiring the microchips which are needed to keep production flowing. Naturally, available supplies were
