Thierry Bolloré
Bolloré in 2021
Born (1963-05-30) 30 May 1963
Quimper, Brittany, France
Alma materParis Dauphine University (MBA)
OccupationBusinessman
TitleCEO of Jaguar Land Rover
PredecessorRalf Speth
Children5

Thierry Yves Henri Bolloré (born 30 May 1963) is a French businessman, previously CEO of Jaguar Land Rover. He began his career at Michelin, then joined Faurecia in 2005 and Renault in 2012 as Chief Competitive Officer,[1] then was named COO in 2018,[2] before becoming CEO from November 2018 to October 2019.

Following the arrest of former Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn in November 2018, he was appointed "acting CEO" then CEO of the French carmaker.[3] In October 2019, after growing reports of frictions with Nissan historical partner as well as misuse of company funds in consulting missions with the Boston Consulting Group, he was removed from his position with "immediate effect" by the board gathered for an emergency meeting.[4]

In 2020, he was recruited by British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover as CEO. He resigned from Jaguar Land Rover in November 2022 stating personal reasons.

Early life and personal life

Thierry Bolloré was born in Quimper (Brittany, France) on 30 May 1963. He graduated with an MBA from the French Paris Dauphine University.[5]

He enjoys sailing[6] and owns two boats: a Danish sailboat X-37 and a Boston Whaler.[7]

He is the father of five children.[5]

Career

Michelin

Thierry Bolloré started his career in 1990 when he joined Michelin, the French tyre manufacturer. He was shop manager in a heavy truck tyre factory and then, from 1993, chief of the Process and quality central group for all heavy truck factories worldwide. He then was appointed the head of Method Group for heavy truck business units in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Four years later, in 1997, he moved to Japan and became industrial assistant of the Michelin passenger car factory. In 1998, he moved to Thailand, in the role of truck factory production manager. He later became the managing director of truck and aircraft businesses.[8][9] In 2002, Bolloré was made vice president in charge of industry for Michelin Aircraft Business worldwide.[10][9]

Faurecia

In 2005, he left Michelin, moving to China to join Faurecia, an international automotive parts manufacturer, where he was named vice president Asia, exhaust systems product group. He was later made responsible for strategy, marketing, business development and research and development as vice president worldwide. In 2010, he moved to Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies as vice president in charge of Europe and South Africa, then became vice president worldwide, in charge of industry, quality and purchasing.[9]

Renault

In September 2012, Bolloré joined Renault, the French multinational automobile manufacturer, and one month later he was appointed executive vice president for manufacturing and supply chain.[11] He became chief competitive officer in 2013.[9]

On 19 February 2018, facing insistence from the French state to prepare his succession, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn appoints Thierry Bolloré as chief operating officer (COO) and second-in-command. The recruitment process, driven by the "compensation committee" of the board and presided by Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, included both internal and external candidates, although some administrators qualified it as "poorly transparent".[12]

On 19 November 2018, Carlos Ghosn is arrested by Japanese authorities in Tokyo airport. In order to prevent decision-making issues at the head of the carmaker, the board of directors is gathered urgently for an extraordinary session to implement a transitional executive governance:[13] lead independent administrator Philippe Lagayette is appointed chairman and Thierry Bolloré is appointed "Deputy Chief Executive Officer" (acting CEO) "on a temporary basis", "having the same powers as Mr. Carlos Ghosn".[14][15][16]

On 24 January 2019, interim governance at the head of the carmaker came to an end, with the nomination of Jean-Dominique Senard as chairman of the board, and Thierry Bolloré as chief executive officer of Renault.

A hallmark of his time as CEO was his worsening relationship with historical industrial partner Nissan.[6] His management style has been commented as "brutal" towards collaborators, leading to a human capital flight of top executives and engineers from Renault to competitors like French carmaker PSA-Peugot-Citroën, as well as their replacement by managers with poor automotive experience coming from the Boston Consulting Group. The press warns for the first time about an "excessive use of consultants" from the firm.

On 11 October 2019, the board of directors of Renault gathered for an emergency meeting and decided unanimously to dismiss Thierry Bolloré "with immediate effect", condemning his management of men and women of the group and denouncing a hostile attitude towards Japanese industrial partner Nissan.[17][18] The ousted CEO criticized the decision in the newspaper Les Echos, describing it as a "disturbing coup"[19] and calling for help from the French state (a major shareholder) "in order not to destabilize Renault".[20] The decision from the board was nevertheless backed by the French Minister of the Economy and Finance, reiterating its confidence in chairman Jean-Dominique Senard.[21]

On 18 February 2021, French daily newspaper Le Monde published an investigation into the links between Thierry Bolloré and the American consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. The newspaper reported that after his appointment as Deputy CEO in February 2018, Thierry Bolloré instructed the consultancy to design a transformation program named "Agile@Scale" then "Fast", promising one billion euros additional value for the carmaker, but soon contested. Executives from the group recall "mountains of PowerPoint presentations full with English catch-all terms, jargon and vague principles inondating the company decision-making bodies", written by highly-paid consultants "with a full freedom to come and go around" in the company.[22] The full scope of the contract approximately amounts to 40 million euros.[23] In its response to the newspaper, the Boston Consulting Group "denie[d] categorically all of these interpretations and conclusions" and claimed having been chosen through a "rigorous" tender process. An internal audit has been carried out but its findings have never been made public.[22]

Jaguar Land Rover

On 28 July 2020, Thierry Bolloré was appointed CEO of English carmarker Jaguar Land Rover, effective in September 2020.[24][25]

He took office on 10 September 2020[26] and presented Jaguar Land Rover's new strategic plan on 15 February 2021.[27] Entitled “Reimagine”, this plan aims to reinvent sustainable modern luxury.[28] Jaguar will become a 100% electric brand from 2025[29] and by 2025, Land Rover will have six 100% electric models. Thierry Bolloré set Jaguar Land Rover a zero carbon target for 2039. In November of 2022, he stepped down from his role at Jaguar Land Rover, citing personal reasons.

BCG were enlisted at JLR too and experience has been similar to that of Renault, described above.

References

  1. ↑ "Jérôme Stoll et Thierry Bolloré, deux numéros deux pour Renault". Le Monde.fr. 10 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "Reuters.com". LEAD 3-Renault-Résultats 2017 records, Carlos Ghosn renforcé. 16 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "Press Release".
  4. ↑ "Press Release". 11 October 2019.
  5. 1 2 Verhelle, Tony (21 November 2018). "Thierry Bolloré, new strong man at Renault and the Alliance?". newmobility.news. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. 1 2 Campbell, Peter; Keohane, David (31 July 2020). "Thierry Bolloré: the polarising sailor set to captain Jaguar Land Rover". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Botella, Jean (28 May 2019). "Les petits secrets de Thierry Bolloré, le remplaçant de Carlos Ghosn chez Renault". Capital.fr (in French). Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Thierry Bolloré". Group.Renault.com. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Executive Vice President, Chief Competitive Officer - media.renault.com". Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  10. ↑ "Thierry Bolloré". Dacia.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Renault's Bollore Said to Win French Backing as Interim CEO". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  12. ↑ "Renault nomme deux experts de la finance à son conseil". Les Echos (in French). 14 February 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "Renault taps interim chairman, COO to replace Ghosn: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "Renault press release" (PDF). 20 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "Renault appoints interim leadership team after Carlos Ghosn arrest". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  16. ↑ "Renault's COO will temporarily run the automaker while it investigates allegations against CEO Carlos Ghosn". CNBC. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  17. ↑ Alderman, Liz (11 October 2019). "Renault Fires Its C.E.O., as the Post-Ghosn Shake-Up Continues (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  18. ↑ Meichtry, Nick Kostov and Stacy (11 October 2019). "Renault Board Votes to Remove CEO Thierry Bolloré". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  19. ↑ Leggett, Theo (11 October 2019). "Renault ousts chief executive Thierry Bolloré in 'coup'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  20. ↑ "Renault : Thierry Bolloré dénonce " un coup de force stupéfiant "". Les Echos (in French). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "Renault révoque son directeur général Thierry Bolloré". Le Monde.fr (in French). 11 October 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  22. 1 2 "Quand des consultants du Boston Consulting Group pilotaient Renault". Le Monde.fr (in French). 18 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  23. ↑ Polle, Benjamin (18 October 2019). "Enquête – Renault : les consultants qui ont fait déborder le vase". Consultor. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "Thierry Bolloré appointed as the new chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover". The Economic Times. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  25. ↑ "Ousted Renault boss appointed new head of Jaguar Land Rover". The Guardian. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  26. ↑ "Jaguar Land Rover welcomes former Renault CEO Thierry Bolloré to the company". Birmingham Mail. 10 September 2020.
  27. ↑ "Jaguar Land Rover " Reimagine " le futur du luxe moderne". media.jaguarlandrover.com. 15 February 2021.
  28. ↑ "Jaguar Land Rover se réimagine un avenir avec la voiture électrique". Les Échos. 16 February 2021.
  29. ↑ "La marque Jaguar va rugir à 100% à l'électrique en 2025". Le Figaro. 16 February 2021.
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