PB Balaji has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Land Rover, becoming the first Indian to occupy the top role at the prestigious British company, now owned by industrial behemoth Tata Group. Balaji takes over from Adrian Mardell, who is retiring from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company.
The appointment of Balaji, who will take over the helm in November 2025, was approved by the Board of Directors of JLR during its August 4 meeting. However, Mardell will remain available to assist with the transition and provide support until the end of his contract.
“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 of the company,” N Chandrasekaran, Chairman – Jaguar Land Rover PLC, Tata Motors and Tata Sons, said.
“The Board spent several months looking for a qualified applicant to lead JLR, and following careful deliberation, Balaji was chosen,” he continued.
According to Chandrasekaran, PB Balaji has been working with the JLR leadership team for a long time and is familiar with the company and its strategy.
Meet PB Balaji
Balaji has a solid background in both academia and the workplace. After completing his B.Tech degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Madras, he then went on to IIM Calcutta to earn a Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) with a Finance and Operations concentration.
Balaji made a big move to the Tata Group in 2017 when he became the Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Tata Motors. Within a month of his appointment, he was appointed as a non-executive director on the board of Jaguar Land Rover, providing the luxury carmaker based in the UK with strategic financial oversight. In his capacity as Group CFO, he helped Tata Motors and its subsidiaries undergo significant restructuring and increase profitability. He became an integral part of the group’s leadership structure as his role grew across several Tata businesses.
Balaji serves on the boards of several Tata companies, including Titan Company, Agratas Energy, Air India, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, and Tata Consumer Products, in addition to his primary duties at Tata Motors. His cross-sectoral involvement demonstrates his leadership and flexibility in a variety of industries, from consumer goods and mobility to energy and aviation. He was the obvious choice to lead JLR through its next stage of change because of his thorough knowledge of international operations and Indian markets.
Balaji will officially succeed Adrian Mardell as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover in November 2025. Being appointed as the first Indian to head the venerable British automaker is a significant milestone for JLR as well as for Indian business leadership overseas. Balaji is anticipated to play a key role in guiding JLR’s future, especially in areas like electrification, sustainability, and global competitiveness, given his demonstrated track record of financial turnaround and strategic management within the Tata ecosystem.
Appointment Comes At A Delicate Time
Balaji’s elevation as the CEO comes at a time when JLR is all set to cut up to 500 management jobs in the United Kingdom, due to the pressure on sales and profits from US trade tariffs.
JLR said it would launch a voluntary redundancy scheme, and that the cuts were not expected to exceed 1.5% of its British workforce. The firm described the move as “normal business practice.”
However, the timing is the main thing to note here, as the carmaker revealed a drop in sales in the three months to June caused partly by its pausing exports to the United States because of tariffs and also due to the planned wind-down of older Jaguar models.
JLR also sees Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 10% tariff on British cars exported to the US hitting its profits in the long run. However, the automaker added that the UK-US trade deal on car imports gives it “confidence to invest 3.5 billion pounds” per year.
It is worth mentioning that under the wave of tariff announcements made by Trump earlier in 2025, UK exports of British cars and automotive parts faced an extra 25% tax, on top of an existing 2.5% levy. This led to JLR pausing shipments of its vehicles to the world’s largest economy. However, the trade deal saw the tariff cut to 10% for a maximum of 100,000 UK cars, which matches the number of these vehicles that the European nation exported in 2024.
Also, another report emerged in July this year about JLR delaying the planned launches of its new electric Range Rover and electric Jaguar models to give it time for more testing and for demand to pick up.
As per the Guardian, the automaker now expects deliveries of the new version of the Range Rover Electric to start only in 2026. JLR has been more cautious in embracing electric technology than its luxury vehicle rivals. While the strategy has left the company vulnerable to dangers like fines for failing to hit UK electric vehicle sales targets.
During an interaction with The Guardian, a JLR spokesperson said, “By 2030, JLR will sell electric versions of all its luxury brands. Our plans and vehicle architectures are flexible, so we can adapt to different markets and client demands. We are committed to the highest standards of design, capability and quality, and we will launch our new models at the right time for our clients, our business and individual markets.”
Image Credits: Tata Motors