Jaguar denies claims of design chief McGovern's firing

Jaguar has officially denied previous reports that its senior design boss, Gerry McGovern, was fired. The company commented on the media reports that claimed Jaguar removed its design head with immediate effect, more than a week later. However, it is still not clear whether Jaguar’s design leadership is changing or staying the same.

Reports and Jaguar Land Rover’s official statement

Earlier reports from publications like Autocar and Autocar India claimed that Jaguar’s long-time design chief, Gerry McGovern, was immediately terminated from his role as the Chief Creative Officer. Those reports also alleged that McGovern was “escorted out of the office” at JLR’s Gaydon Design Studio in the UK.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has now officially rejected these claims, saying, “It is untrue we have terminated Gerry McGovern’s employment, and we do not intend to further comment on speculative stories.” 

The official comment came 10 days after the reports were first published. Jaguar has denied termination, but does not state any clarification or details related to Mr McGovern’s employment at JLR. However, he is still listed on Jaguar’s corporate website as the CCO (Chief Creative Officer).

Gerry McGovern’s role at Jaguar Land Rover

Gerry McGovern has worked at the company for around 20 years. He is credited with creative direction and leading the design of the iconic new-era Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery and even the redesigned Land Rover Defender, launched in 2019.

Most controversially, Gerry was also responsible for the Jaguar Type 00 concept, which previews the marquee’s shift toward fully electric cars in the luxury automotive space.

Controversy around the Jaguar Type 00 concept

Jaguar designed the Type 00 concept under McGovern’s leadership and was linked to a heavily criticised advertising campaign. The concept car reportedly had a radical, polarising design and a “woke” marketing campaign.

The advertising campaign showed fashion models and graphics instead of prominently featuring any product, i.e, cars. Fans were also disappointed with the dropping of the iconic leaping jaguar logo for a new text style identity. The Type 00 has a minimalist, “art deco” hyper-luxury look, which suggests more futuristic and electric-only cars from the brand in the future.