Jaguar Land Rover axes chief creative officer

Jaguar Land Rover has axed design boss Gerry McGovern, sources inside the firm have told Autocar and Autocar India.

It is understood that the brand’s chief creative officer was asked to leave the firm on Monday and his position was terminated with immediate effect.

Autocar India's source suggested McGovern was "escorted out of the office", although the exact details as to why are not yet known.

When approached, a spokesperson for JLR replied: "No comment." Parent company Tata Motors has not yet responded.

Further circumstances around the decision are light on detail, but it comes just a week after new CEO PB Balaji, formerly finance boss of Tata Motors, took over from the retiring Adrian Mardell, potentially signalling that JLR's India-based parent could be angling for an even tighter grip on the British car maker.

McGovern was considered a hugely influential figure on JLR’s board and was a favourite of the late Ratan Tata, former chairman of the wider Tata Group.

It brings to an end a 21-year career at JLR for McGovern that has been filled with highlights.

The designer is responsible for the modern-day reinvention of the Defender, helping to keep the four-car Range Rover line-up ever popular and reinventing Jaguar for its transition into an electric-only car maker, which includes creating the highly controversial Type 00 Concept (below). He was also key in JLR's 2021 Reimagine strategy.

Before JLR, McGovern worked on the MG EXE concept car, the MGF roadster and the first Land Rover Freelander while at British Leyland. He then moved to Ford in 1999 to head up the Lincoln‑Mercury brands, setting up studios in California. He returned to the UK to run a design consultancy in London before rejoining Land Rover in 2004.

McGovern’s design work led him to be named Autocar’s Sturmey Award winner in 2020, an award presented for innovation and achievement.

In August it emerged that four agencies were in the running for JLR's global integrated marketing account.

There has been intense media interest in Jaguar, in particular, following a major rebrand at the end of 2024, which included a colourful launch film, “Copy nothing”, that did not feature a single car.

A version of this article first appeared on Campaign's sister title Autocar.