Boss behind woke Jaguar rebrand departs
The man responsible for Jaguar Land Rover's 'woke' rebrand has abruptly left the manufacturer, writes Freda Lewis-Stempel.
Sources said chief creative officer Gerry McGovern, who helped design the new Jaguar Type 00 concept electric vehicle, left the company on Monday with immediate effect.
Board member McGovern, 69, also oversaw the controversial Copy Nothing rebrand in November 2024.
Its launch advert was ridiculed as it did not focus on Jaguar's heritage or feature a car.
It was labelled 'woke' by many, including US President Donald Trump and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
British car designer McGovern had a 21-year career at JLR.
He was considered to be a hugely influential figure at the car-making giant.
He was reportedly a firm favourite of Ratan Tata, the late former chairman of the Tata Group, which owns JLR.
The exit comes less than a week after former JLR chief executive Adrian Mardell retired and was replaced by PB Balaji.
As former finance boss at JLR's parent company Tata Motors, Balaji spent more than a decade working at the parent company and is reportedly keen to shake things up.
With the production version of the Type 00 concept due to be released next summer, the exit of McGovern will raise eyebrows.
Jaguar's luxury four-door EV is targeting a new audience - young, image-conscious and affluent buyers - and is expected to cost more than £100,000 when available.
Jaguar rebrand 2024
McGovern also oversaw the recent and hugely successful reinvention of the Defender and helped turned Range Rover into a luxury sub-brand.
In 2020, he was appointed chief creative officer and a member of the board.
A JLR spokesman declined to comment last night.
Photo: Gerry McGovern
