Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced the appointment of PB Balaji as its new chief executive officer, effective November.
Balaji becomes the first Indian to take the helm at the British luxury carmaker, which is owned by the Tata Motors Group.
Balaji succeeds Adrian Mardell, who has expressed his desire to retire from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company.
Balaji currently serves as the group chief financial officer of Tata Motors Group, a role he has held since November 2017. With over 32 years of experience spanning the automotive and consumer goods sectors, he has worked extensively across finance and supply chain functions.
Throughout his career, Balaji has led large, diverse teams across global markets, operating out of Mumbai, London, Singapore, and Switzerland, and has played a key role in the ongoing transformation of Tata Motors Group.
Balaji said, “It is my privilege to lead this incredible company. Over the past 8 years I have grown to know and love this company and its redoubtable global brands. I look forward to working with the team to take it to even greater heights. I thank Adrian for his immense contributions and wish him well for his next innings.”
JLR PLC, Tata Motors and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said, “I would like to thank Adrian Mardell for the stellar turnaround of JLR and for delivering record results. I am delighted to appoint Balaji as the incoming CEO of the company. The search for a suitable candidate to lead JLR has been undertaken by the Board for the past few months and after careful consideration it was decided to appoint Balaji. He has been associated with the Company for the past many years and is familiar with the Company, its strategy and has been working with the JLR leadership team. This move will ensure that we continue to accelerate our journey to Reimagine JLR.”
Mardell commented, “These three years have been a great privilege. Together with the incredible JLR workforce, we have cemented JLR’s position in the automotive industry during a time of incredible change. I would like to thank everyone in JLR and the extended Tata Group, and wish Balaji every success in his new role.”
