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| 29th April 2004 | Home: Automotive & Design News: Design: McGovern Takes New LR Design Job |
| McGovern Takes New LR Design Job
Gerry McGovern is appointed director of Land Rover Advanced Design "Gerry is uniquely suited to this role," said J Mays, Ford Motor Company’s group vice president of Design. "He’s already shown the world that he fully understands Land Rover’s DNA, having led the team that designed Freelander. Since then, Gerry’s work at Lincoln-Mercury and Ingeni has demonstrated his ability to clearly define brand and product strategies by understanding diverse international markets." In this new role, McGovern will report to both Mays and Hans Gustavsson, director of Product Development for Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford believe the new and additional emphasis on advanced design for Land Rover, similar to Jaguar, is key to further strengthening the brand's line-up. It does, however, mark a shift from the original ethos of the marque, which would have perhaps led to an advanced engineering (rather than design) team. This is a clear statement of Ford's intentions to create more premium products to compensate for declining core blue-oval revenues. Land Rover’s managing director Matthew Taylor said, "Land Rover’s intense period of product launches is gathering momentum, and we want to further accelerate our ability to introduce fresh new products. The all-new Land Rover LR3 received a tremendous reaction at the New York Auto Show, and our first-ever concept vehicle – the Range Stormer – has had strong reviews since its worldwide debut in January." He added: "With this appointment, we’re aiming to further strengthen our talented design team to capitalize on the huge potential and growth opportunities for this great brand. Two of the world’s top designers – Gerry and Geoff – will help drive and execute our vision and growth. Gerry’s experience in the U.S. will also prove invaluable as we set our sights on improving our appeal in this key market." McGovern, who will be based in Gaydon with Upex, has been director of Ingeni, Ford Motor Company’s London-based design and creativity centre. Ingeni's team of multidisciplinary designers created vehicles and concepts for the company's eight brands, designed luxury goods for the Premier Automotive Group brands and created products for outside companies before being dispanded in late 2003 to cut costs. Before assuming the top post at Ingeni in August 2003, McGovern was Lincoln-Mercury Design director – his first design job upon joining Ford Motor Company in 1999. No stranger to the Land Rover brand, McGovern was studio director of Land Rover for the Rover Group in Warwickshire, England, where he was responsible for key Land Rover products. Whilst at Rover, he also played a significant role in creating other production vehicle within the Rover Group portfolio – most notably the highly successful MGF. Early in his career, McGovern also worked with Chrysler Corporation, both in the UK and America. He also worked at Peugeot as a senior product designer working on design proposals for car and truck model ranges. |
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