The Range Rover is arguably one of the world’s most famous and easily recognised silhouettes. A car that, according to Jaguar Land Rover’s chief designer Gerry McGovern, can be designed using three lines, and yet, involves a process that’s akin to splitting the atom for non-designer folks. Geraldine Ingham, Managing Director and custodian of the Range Rover brand isn’t a designer, but she can tell you, in exacting detail, how much finesse and craftsmanship has gone into every panel of the iconic luxury SUV.
Ingham describes it as a sanctuary where passengers can unwind. An oasis of sorts. As Managing Director, she isn’t your average petrolhead who is prone to number-crunching pedantry or pontification. Although she dove straight into the automotive world right out of university, it happened at a time when the British car industry was on the decline. British Leyland, once a towering giant of British motoring, had gone bust, and the oil crisis had come in like a wrecking ball, leaving only the most efficient cars in the wake.
“There were a lot of Japanese brands that had come in when I had graduated.” says Ingham adding “Once I got into this industry, I couldn’t leave it because I loved it so much. And that’s because there’s so much you get to do in this industry. Within my career, I’ve performed so many different roles be it in sales, marketing, distribution, and project management” says Ingham, who is serving out her second stint at JLR.
The British car industry certainly isn’t in the doldrums anymore. In fact, the success of the Range Rover and the Defender has, in no small measure, helped parent company Tata Motors double its stock in the past couple of years, surpassing every other member of the Bloomberg World Auto Manufacturers Index.
