Following more the two decades of oversight and leading the design teams responsible for some of Jaguar/Land Rover’s most significant modern vehicles, Gerry McGovern will officially leave the company to start his own creative consultancy.

Sources told Autocar that McGovern would be severing ties with the company officially, and then the outlet obtained the internal memo, with the news then confirmed by JLR. The split will be official at the end of March 2026, when McGovern will no doubt reveal more news about his new venture.

Autocar quoted McGovern from within the memo where he was understandably effusive in his praise for the company. “It has been a great privilege to work at JLR across two extraordinary decades, and I would like to thank the Tata family in particular for the opportunities they gave me,” it read. “The dedication and passion of thousands of people across the business have made these brands what they are today, and I am enormously proud of what we have built together. I look forward to the next chapter of my creative career.”

WhichCar by Wheels understands that McGovern’s departure was anything but acrimonious, hence the time between him being asked to step down, and the official announcement now. McGovern was understood to wield significant influence over the JLR board, and was particularly close to the late Ratan Tata, former chairman of the Tata Group, which took over ownership of JLR.

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Autocar quoted new JLR CEO PB Balaji who said, “Gerry’s creative leadership, vision, drive and passion have left an indelible stamp on our brands. I would like to thank Gerry for the significant contribution he has made to JLR and wish him every success in his next creative chapter.”

McGovern was born in Coventry and was responsible for some of the most significant new vehicles to emerge from the Midlands-based manufacturer, with the new Land Rover Defender the most significant to Australian readers. McGovern told this journalist more than once in the delayed lead up to the release of the Defender that Australia was a vital market for the 4WD, and that re-imagining a legend was no easy task.

Subsequently, the Defender has been incredibly popular around the world, despite initial resistance from the traditionalists.

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McGovern was also responsible for the modernised Range Rover line-up – including Sport, the then-new Discovery, and more recently, the 2021 Reimagine Strategy and the divisive Type 00 Concept as part of Jaguar’s move to being an electric-only manufacturer.

With legendary designer Ian Callum leaving Jaguar a few years ago, McGovern moving on signifies the end of an era and changing of the guard for what has been an undeniable period of success for JLR globally.