JLR chief Forster resigns for ‘personal’ reasons

Tata Motors, India’s largest auto maker by revenues, on Friday informed stock exchanges that Carl-Peter Forster, its managing director and group CEO, had resigned with “immediate effect.”

The owner of luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands said Forster had resigned due to “unavoidable personal circumstances.” He, however, remains a non-executive member of the Tata Motors board.

Prakash Telang, managing director of India operations, and Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, will represent their respective operations on the board, the company said .

“The board respects Carl-Peter’s personal circumstances that led to this move. We would like to thank him for his contributions to the successful development of our company in his role as group CEO and MD,” chairman Ratan Tata said.

The announcement, which comes just 18 months after the German executive joined the Indian company, has raised eyebrows.

Tata Motors had acquired the Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors in 2008.

Forster and fellow German Speth were inducted on the company board in early 2010 in a bid to “internationalise” the Indian company as it bet big on the foreign markets.

Along with the core management team led by vice-chairman Ravi Kant, Forster is credited with having steered Tata Motors out of the doldrums. At the height of the financial crisis, Tata Motors carried on its balance sheet a gargantuan debt of Rs21,900 crore.

The company statement did not elaborate on the “personal circumstances” that led to Forster’s departure.

In an earlier interaction, Forster had mentioned how he was living a peripatetic life, shuttling between London and Mumbai on a regular basis. His father still needed to be convinced to move base from Munich to London. Whether that was a reason for the move to shed day-to-day duties can be answered only by him.
For now, all he is saying is, “I am glad to continue my association with Tata Motors.”