Don’t hate the player, hate the game!

Last week, Jaguar Land Rover announced that CEO Adrian Mardell would retire at the end of 2025, marking the end of a 35-year career at the British automaker. While JLR insists this is simply Mardell's desire to retire after three successful years as CEO, the timing tells a different story.

Our advice to JLR: own the strategy or change it - but don't let your CEO become the story.

Mardell oversaw the reveal of the infinitely controversial Jaguar Type 00 Concept in late 2024, which aimed to take Jaguar from competing against Mercedes-Benz and Lexus to the rarified air of Bentley and Rolls-Royce. The rebrand featured androgynous models in brightly coloured outfits with slogans like "Copy Nothing" without featuring a single car! The campaign sparked immediate backlash, and critics were not kind. Mardell expressed confidence: "I don't see anything which is going to concern me about the success of the new Jaguar in this new world at all, actually."

The real scandal isn't the rebrand itself - it's how JLR has handled the aftermath. Mardell’s confidence is departing JLR precisely when it is needed most. Plenty of reports suggest the company was already starting to retreat. With Jaguar's first new EV models not expected until 2026, and the brand essentially on hiatus until then, continuity of vision is critical.

If the rebrand holds the vision of Jaguar's future, then get your leaders to stand behind it. If it was wrong, pivot deliberately and communicate why. Now whether they meant to or not, JLR have to contend with a leadership vacuum that screams lack of conviction. Oh and that transformation programme? It’s definitely dead.

Dear Leah, 

I’m Chief Operating Officer at a family business that’s been hugely successful, but we’re now facing our biggest internal crisis. The Founder (age 72) wants to step back, and his two children - both capable executives in their 40s - are locked in a power struggle over succession. The daughter (our current Marketing Director) has an MBA and clear strategic vision, but the son (our Sales Director) has deeper relationships with our biggest clients and feels it’s “his birthright.” 

The Founder keeps changing his mind about who should take over, and both siblings have started building factions within the leadership team. Last week, the Marketing Director accused the Sales Director of “undermining company decisions” in front of the entire senior team. He responded by questioning her “understanding of our customer base.” 

I’m trying to keep the business running whilst they tear each other apart. Our performance is starting to suffer, and I’m fielding questions from our best people about whether they should start looking elsewhere. How do I protect the business without getting caught in family dynamics that go back decades?

- Caught in Dynasty Drama

Hi there ‘Caught in Dynasty Drama’

Help is at hand! You’re asking the right questions, but I have some more:
📍Which of them does the team respect most?
📍Why does it have to be either of them if it’s clear that trust is waning as the best people are on resignation watch?
📍When does the Founder want to step down by?
📍How is the Founder proposing to make his decision?
📍Who will replace their respective functions if one of them is promoted?

These two directors have a statutory duty to act in the best interests of the company, not in the best interests of their own careers or reputations and I would start by framing the whole situation around that reality.

Facing your own fiasco? Don't let your crisis become next week's newsletter feature. Call us.

Fix it fast through an emergency response when your organisation hits turbulence. From boardroom breakdowns to cultural meltdowns, we've seen it all and will get you through it.

Future-proof your leadership through proactive training and frameworks that prevent problems rather than create them. Build resilience, clarity, and confidence in your leadership team before you need it.

Find your way forward whether a merger gone wrong, a scandal brewing, or simply the sense that your organisation has lost its way - we help leaders chart a course to calmer waters.

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About The WayFinders Group

You know those moments when your board dynamics implode, your top talent turns toxic, or your stakeholders start questioning whether you're the right person for the job? That's exactly when you need The WayFinders Group.

Founded by lawyer and accredited mediator Leah Brown FRSA, we're the multi-disciplinary team you call when traditional HR solutions aren't enough, the legal work is out of scope, and McKinsey can't fix what's fundamentally broken about how people relate to each other in your organisation. We don't just mediate conflicts, we rebuild the cultures that created them using human-centred design principles to understand your unique stakeholder ecosystem, prototype solutions collaboratively, and iterate based on real-world feedback.

Think of us as the team that prevents your next move resulting in failure, and instead sets the foundation for the legacy you want to leave. Because when you can handle the impossible personalities and navigate the political minefields, everything else becomes manageable.

Our track record includes transforming private companies, NHS trusts, police forces, sports teams, and educational institutions, plus handling the kind of boardroom breakdowns and CEO crises that end careers if mismanaged. We ensure sustainable transformation rather than quick fixes.

Facing your own fiasco? Don't let your crisis become next week's newsletter feature. Call us.

Fix it fast through an emergency response when your organisation hits turbulence. From boardroom breakdowns to cultural meltdowns, we've seen it all and will get you through it.

Future-proof your leadership through proactive training and frameworks that prevent problems rather than create them. Build resilience, clarity, and confidence in your leadership team before you need it.

Find your way forward whether a merger gone wrong, a scandal brewing, or simply the sense that your organisation has lost its way - we help leaders chart a course to calmer waters.

If you’re ready to avoid becoming our next case study or want to feature a case study of your own, contact us at [email protected].