Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the British luxury automotive arm of Tata Motors, has announced the appointment of P B Balaji as its new chief executive officer (CEO), effective November 2025. He will take over from Adrian Mardell, who will retire after 35 years with the company, including three years as CEO.
- Balaji’s new role as JLR’s CEO will be effective from November 2025
- Balaji is currently the CFO at Tata Motors and also on the board at JLR
Mardell was appointed as CEO in 2023, following the sudden departure of Thierry Bollore, and has led the Jaguar and Land Rover brands through one of the most transformative periods in their respective histories.
P B Balaji takes over from Adrian Mardell
Balaji, currently serving as Group CFO of Tata Motors, has been a key architect in the group’s ongoing transformation and has worked closely with the JLR leadership over the past several years. His appointment follows a formal board-led succession process.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, and Tata Sons, said, “I would like to thank Adrian for the stellar turnaround of JLR and for delivering record results. I am delighted to appoint Balaji as the incoming CEO. He has been associated with the company for the past many years and is familiar with the strategy. This move will ensure that we continue to accelerate our journey to Reimagine JLR.”
During Mardell’s tenure, JLR made notable progress in its Reimagine strategy, which focuses on electrification, profitability and premium brand elevation. Reflecting on his time at JLR, Mardell said, “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 wish Balaji every success in his new role.”
Balaji is already on the board of JLR, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, Tata Motors Finance Group and Agratas, which is building a battery factory in Somerset, UK, partly to supply JLR EVs.
P B Balaji’s background
Balaji, a mechanical engineer from IIT Chennai and an alumnus of IIM Kolkata, brings with him 32 years of experience across the automotive and FMCG sectors, including stints in Singapore, London, Switzerland and Mumbai. He said, “It is my privilege to lead this incredible company. Over the past eight years, I have grown to know and love JLR and its iconic global brands. I look forward to working with the team to take it to even greater heights.” Balaji's elevation signals continuity and renewed momentum for JLR’s transformation.
However, he will have to negotiate JLR's inevitable shift to a pure-electric line-up over the coming years, in the face of waning global demand for premium EVs. Recently, it emerged that the long-awaited Range Rover Electric, originally planned for showrooms by the end of 2025, had been delayed to next year – in part to allow for demand to pick up. The company has not confirmed a new date for the Range Rover EV, nor said if the Jaguar Type 00 electric model will still launch on schedule.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Anurag Chaturvedi
