Shuffle continues at Premier

The ongoing shakeup in Ford Motor Co.'s Premier Automotive Group continued last week with the deletion of general manager slots at the North American operations of Jaguar and Land Rover.

The changes were spearheaded by Mike

O'Driscoll, president of Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover North America, as he searches for the best combination of executives and operational efficiencies among the three British luxury brands.

While Aston Martin will have its own hierarchy, the sales and marketing of Jaguar and Land Rover will be overseen by Englishman Richard Beattie, 47, an executive vice president and longtime Ford employee.

Beattie's last post was vice president of marketing, sales and service for Lincoln Mercury. He was president of Mazda North American Operations from 1997 to 2000. Beattie will report to O'Driscoll.

Gone is Sue Callaway, 38, a former journalist hired by former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser. Callaway rocketed to general manager of Jaguar Cars of North America after less than a year at the automaker.

Steve McKnight, 57, Land Rover's general manager, was appointed vice president of remarketing and distribution for Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover North America.

The new executive structure gives more coherence to two brands that are increasingly codependent. They share a growing number of vehicle components, and executives want the two franchises dualed at about half of their dealerships in the United States. At the beginning of the year, Land Rover had 140 franchises and Jaguar had 150.

Although Jaguar and Land Rover have eliminated their general manager positions, John Walton, 43, remains general manager of Aston Martin.

"We're leaving Aston Martin alone because it's a small organization, and we have the most work to do in the larger brands," said Simon Sproule, spokesman for Aston Martin Jaguar North America.

Most of Beattie's duties at Lincoln Mercury involved coordinating brand efforts with the other Premier brands at their London headquarters. Because Lincoln Mercury once again is working directly with Ford Division in Dearborn, Beattie's position will be eliminated and his duties will be assumed by Brian Kelley, Lincoln Mercury president.

In an interview Friday, June 14, Beattie said Land Rover and Jaguar may increase sharing of their back-office operations but that any "customer-facing" positions will remain exclusive to the individual brands.

"Land Rover is still relatively new to Ford Motor Co.," he said. "Combining the Ford and Jaguar and Land Rover cultures is a challenge that one

shouldn't take lightly because of the history and passion for the brands. My objective is to try to blend these cultures together.

"There are opportunities everywhere for us to commonize stuff, starting with computer systems and back-office areas like parts and service. But everything that's important to the product and how we sell it has to remain separate. We will continue to protect the strong, powerful brands."

Jobs at Jaguar and Land Rover in California were cut 15 percent last summer when their operations were combined. Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover has about 400 employees in North America. Further personnel reductions at PAG are in the works as part of Ford Motor Co.'s companywide austerity program. Sproule said PAG does not have a headcount target.

Callaway was promoted to the top Jaguar job in September 2001, after being hired from Fortune to be PAG's director of marketing in December 2000. Her posting triggered animosity in the executive ranks, due to her rapid rise past numerous Ford and Jaguar lifers. Jaguar headquarters in England also was not advised of Callaway's promotion until Nasser announced it, Ford insiders said.

Jaguar's U.S. sales in 2002 have jumped 62 percent to 27,426 units through May, entirely on the back of X-Type sedans launched last summer. Jaguar has sold 16,171 X-Types this year. But sales of the X-Type have only caught on this spring, as a $349-per-month lease deal tries to spark consumer interest following a poor model mix at launch. Sales of the other Jaguar models have slid this year, especially the S-Type, which is off 45.9 percent to 5,820 units.

Land Rover's 2002 U.S. sales also have been bolstered by the addition of a new model, the Freelander. Sales are up 54.1 percent to 14,657 units through May, with Freelander contributing 6,028 units. Sales should get a further boost with this month's launch of the redesigned Range Rover.

In a related announcement, George Ayres, 39, was named vice president of marketing for Jaguar North America, replacing Michelle Cervantez. Ayres had been manager of business strategy for Jaguar. Cervantez now is manager of cross-brand strategy for Ford Motor Co.