Jaguar Land Rover loses top marketer Fiona Pargeter
Jaguar Land Rover’s customer experience director, Fiona Pargeter, has departed the business less than two years after she was put in the newly-created position amid a major restructure.
Fiona Pargeter
Jaguar Land Rover announced a major overhaul of its marketing, communications and sales functions in May 2018 when then chief marketing officer Felix Bräutigam was promoted to chief commercial officer.
Pargeter, who was global PR communications director at the time, was promoted to a newly-created role of customer experience director, which saw her take on full responsibility for marketing communications, experiential marketing and customer insight, in addition to PR.
The company also appointed a new UK marketing director in Anthony Bradbury and UK regional director in Rawdon Glover.
Its global head of advertising, Ian Armstrong, left the business shortly after the shake-up.
At the time, Bräutigam said the marketing overhaul was aimed at bringing “key functions together” and making it “fit for the future” in a “communications landscape [that] is being revolutionised.”
However, after 10 years at the car marque, Pargeter is to step down. Finbar McFall, product marketing director, will take immediate responsibility for the customer experience function while a replacement is found.
Bräutigam said: “We would like to thank Fiona for her 10 years of dedicated service to our two great brands ... We wish Fiona all the very best and success for the future.”
McFall's ascension to the marketing role is effective 13 January.
Andre Oosthuizen will take up the role as Jaguar's communications director, reporting to McFall, on the same date. Richard Agnew remains as the Land Rover communications director.
The reshuffle comes after Jaguar Land Rover battled falling global sales towards the end of 2019, a trend heightened in the UK where it suffered a loss of 10.8% in November amid Brexit uncertainty.
Read The Drum's analysis of where the Jaguar Land Rover brand should go from here following Pargeter's departure.