New Delhi: With a new captain at the helm, struggling British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has shrunk its board of directors from 11 members to three and shifted operational decision-making to a newly created executive committee of 13 top managers led by chief executive P.B. Balaji, according to an executive aware of the development and later confirmed by the company.
The changes, aimed at reviving the finances and operations of the Tata-owned company through a faster decision-making framework, kicked in from 1 April.
In an emailed response to Mint’s queries, a JLR spokesperson said: “JLR created an Executive Committee (ExCom) effective from April 2026, with larger operational autonomy and stronger, simplified decision sub-groups to drive effective and faster decision-making.”
The spokesperson added that JLR’s board now has Balaji, CFO Richard Molyneux, and one non-executive director—Al-Noor Ramji.
Another company, Jaguar Land Rover Automotive (JLRA) Plc—the holding company of JLR Ltd—has a six-member board headed by Tata Group chairperson Natarajan Chandrasekaran. Both entities are registered in the UK.
Vinay Piparsania, founder at MillenStrat Advisory and Research, said the new structure brings both agility and alignment at the leadership level.
“An empowered executive committee enables faster cross-functional coordination, quicker decision-making and sharper accountability,” he said. “For companies like Jaguar Land Rover, it creates the organisational agility needed to respond faster to market shifts while ensuring the transformation agenda remains institution-led rather than personality-led.”
Who’s in, who’s out
JLR has seen a series of organisational changes within six months of Balaji taking charge as chief executive.
According to the executive cited earlier, the leadership team has seen the exit of chief creative officer Gerry McGovern and chief strategy officer Swarna Ramanathan.
Chris Thorp, chief of staff at JLR, was given interim charge of the creative department while also taking on the role of chief corporate affairs officer. Among the new appointments are Balaje Rajan, former head of strategy at Tata Motors, as group chief strategy officer; Qing Pan, president of JLR China, as global chief procurement officer; and Naveen Krishna as chief information and digital officer.
During a post results interaction with analysts and investors on 14 May, Balaji highlighted a few areas that the company is focusing on for its recovery, which includes cutting costs on warranty and procurement, and strengthening its IT systems.
“We need to change internally to be fit for the new world order,” Balaji said, in a hint at the organisational restructuring.
Balaji was among the early leadership hires made after Chandrasekaran took over as chairman of Tata Sons in 2017, joining Tata Motors as chief financial officer.
Chandrasekaran praised the turnaround of Tata Motors’ finances in the previous annual report of Tata Sons, which experts interpreted as acknowledging Balaji’s efforts.
Why the changes are important
Now, Balaji has a similar task at JLR, which is executing plans to save costs of up to £1.7 billion to boost profitability margins and reduce breakeven volumes to sales of 300,000 cars per year.
Balaji’s turnaround efforts are crucial for Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, which counts JLR Ltd as a subsidiary. The company saw its first revenue decline in five years and slipped into an operating loss owing to the troubles at JLR in FY26.
Tata Motors PV’s revenue for FY26 fell 8% to ₹3.35 trillion as JLR volumes declined 23% to 308,000 units, according to the company’s results released on 14 May. The company also posted an operating loss of ₹1,377 crore, compared with a profit of ₹19,394 crore a year earlier.
JLR’s revenue declined 21% to £22.9 billion, while profit slumped from £2.5 billion to £14 million in FY26. The decline was driven in part by more than £860 million in cumulative additional costs arising from a cyberattack on its manufacturing facilities last September and higher US tariffs on exports to the American market.
Balaji, who took over on 17 November 2025, replaced Adrian Mardell as the chief executive at a time when JLR was preparing for the launch of all-electric Jaguar as its biggest pivot into the electric vehicle market.
Some analysts have said that the task remains steep for JLR with limited scope for cost-cutting measures helping in boosting the prospects in the near term.
“JLR continues to face multiple headwinds, both on the demand and cost front. While JLR has embarked on a major cost reduction initiative, it is likely to only help partially offset the current headwinds,” analysts at Motilal Oswal wrote in a 14 May note.