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If I ran an automotive business, I’d hire Gerry McGovern in a flash. His departure will already have Chinese car company bosses looking up his number, says Steve Fowler
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JLR – the British car company formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover – has reportedly parted company with its chief creative officer, professor Gerry McGovern OBE. Reports suggest that it was a sudden thing, with Gerry escorted from his office earlier this week, although the official line from JLR is a firm “no comment”.
JLR, it seems, is never far from controversy. The company ground to a halt earlier this year when it was subject to a sophisticated cyber attack – from factory lines to design and engineering work stopped for weeks on end – with production only recently restarting.
Then there’s the furore over the new Jaguar – ditching a whole model line-up for a new, bold (some might say brash) all-electric model that was launched in a striking shade of pink. That Jaguar and the all-electric Range Rover are just a couple of delayed projects, while the company’s balance sheet is up and down more than my wifi signal.
Gerry has been similarly controversial over the years, apparently liked and loathed in equal measure by his colleagues. However, what nobody can deny is the impact he’s had on the JLR business during his 21-year career at his local car maker (McGovern was born in the Midlands) or the quality of the designs that he and his teams have produced, time after time.
From two generations of Range Rover to reinventing the Defender, that odd offset number plate of the Discovery didn’t seem to harm sales, and then there’s the money-spinning Range Rover Evoque (although Victoria Beckham did her best to take some credit for that). Every car Gerry touches turns to gold.
JLR parted ways with the advertising agency behind the Jaguar relaunch, and now it’s done the same with the guy who designed the car.
So, it was no real surprise that he eventually got control of Jaguar and set about reimagining the great but perennially struggling British brand. There was a sharp intake of breath when the world first saw the Type 00 concept car – myself included – but the design of the car was somewhat overshadowed by the advertising campaign that ran alongside it.
JLR parted ways with the advertising agency behind the Jaguar relaunch, and now it’s understood that it’s done the same with the guy who designed the car.
Full disclosure here: I like Gerry. Yes, he can be stubborn and rude, but he’s incredibly intelligent, passionate about all things design, and always entertaining to talk to.
He and I once had lunch at the famous Four Seasons restaurant in New York’s famous Seagram building, with Henry Kissinger sitting on an adjacent table. While I was starstruck at sitting alongside one of the US’s most famous politicians, Gerry only had eyes for the design of the restaurant and the architecture of the building – one of his favourites.
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Our shared love of architecture led us to London, where we took a trip to one of his art dealers, his tailor, and to look at another of his favourite buildings, Trellick Tower – one of the best examples of Brutalist architecture, which Gerry admires.
Gerry once described me as a friend and then proceeded to use a less-than-complimentary four-letter word to describe me. I took it as a cack-handed term of endearment.
As I write this, I’ve got no idea why Gerry has left JLR. His departure coincides with the arrival of a new CEO, PB Balaji, who was the chief financial officer of JLR’s owner, Tata. Whether it’s a new design direction that the new boss wants to take or something else, we may never know.
But what I do know is that the reverberations from Gerry’s departure will be felt much further afield than inside JLR. Gerry will be in huge demand – and rightly so. Even at close to 70 years old, Gerry will be a big catch for someone.
Imagine what he could do as design boss of China’s biggest car company BYD, or any other of the up-and-coming brands from the Far East, that I’d love to see.
Gerry is too good a designer to hang up his pencil just yet. He’s going to be a tough act to follow at JLR (I wonder if his former deputy, Massimo Fascella, is rueing his decision to move to Audi last year right now?), but it’s one hell of a job for someone.
Gerry may end up fulfilling another passion by designing furniture or buildings. However, I hope it’s not the last we see of him and that we get to see some Gerry McGovern cars that don’t wear any JLR brand badges in the future.
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