Jaguar Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern - a driving force behind Jaguar's 'woke' rebrand - will officially leave the car manufacturer at the end of March after months of controversy surrounding his tenure.
Reports emerged in early December that McGovern's two-decade stint at the company had come to an abrupt end, though the news was quickly followed by statements from JLR refuting the claims.
But some three months later, both JLR and McGovern have confirmed his departure from the role of chief creative officer, which also sees the 21-year veteran step down as a member of the board.
McGovern has confirmed he will now establish his own creative consultancy.
Since 2004, the Coventry University graduate had overseen the design direction of Range Rover, Defender and Discovery, including the Range Rover Evoque, Velar, two generations of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, and the modern day Defender.
But he will likely be remembered most for steering the direction of Jaguar's electric rebrand, including the reveal in Miami of the Barbie pink Type 00 concept and its divisive launch video in 2024.
In an official statement shared with JLR staff and issued to Daily Mail and This is Money, he said: 'It has been a great privilege to work at JLR across two extraordinary decades, and I would like to thank the Tata family in particular, for the opportunities they gave me.'
McGovern added: 'The dedication and passion of thousands of people across the business have made these brands what they are today, and I am enormously proud of what we have built together.'
'I look forward to the next chapter of my creative career.'
Reports of McGovern's departure in December came less than a week after former JLR chief executive Adrian Mardell had retired and new chief executive, PB Balaji, took over.
Balaji, previously finance boss at JLR's parent company Tata Motors, was parachuted into the top seat in a move to strengthen Tata's stewardship of the car maker as it negotiates its transition away from combustion engine cars over the next decade.
This led to suggestions that the Balaji - who had worked across senior roles at Tata for a decade - would water down Jaguar's bold small-production, electric-only strategy.
However, in an interview with Daily Mail and This is Money in December, Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover explained that Balaji had been involved in the rebranding from the start of the project.
He too had overseen the Type 00 concept - and the four-door electric GT production car that will follow in the summer - from the very beginning of the design phase.
Reports emerged in December that McGovern's two-decade stint at JLR had come to an abrupt end, though the news was quickly refuted by the car firm.
McGovern steered the direction of Jaguar's electric rebrand, beginning with the reveal in Miami of the pink Type 00 concept in 2024, including that 'woke' social media campaign.
In the memo shared with employees on Friday, Balaji said: 'Gerry's creative leadership, vision, drive and passion have left an indelible stamp on our brands.'
'I would like to thank Gerry for the significant contribution he has made to JLR and wish him every success in his next creative chapter.'
McGovern will officially leave the business on 31 March.
Jaguar Land Rover says it will not comment further on his exit.
The relaunch of Jaguar as an electric-only luxury car maker in 2024 received plenty of criticism, with US President Donald Trump ridiculing its promotional advert for the debut of the Type 00 as 'woke' and 'stupid'.
The social media clip - which showed slogans including Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons' famous quote 'copy nothing' as well as 'create exuberant', 'break moulds', live vivid' and 'delete ordinary' alongside a group of diverse models in bright clothing but no cars - also triggered disparaging remarks from Tesla boss Elon Musk.
Responding to the criticism of Type 00's debut, McGovern said 'Jaguar has no desire to be loved by everybody, it has already stirred emotions and it will continue to.'
And in reference to his dramatic concept car, he said: 'Some may love it now. Some may love it later. And some may never love it. And that's OK. Because that's what fearless creativity does. This is the original essence of Jaguar.'
He added: 'Controversy has always surrounded British creativity when it has been at its best'.
McGovern directed the design team that penned Jaguar's 'Barbie pink' Type 00 electric concept. The production version of the car is due to be launched in the summer.
Arguably McGovern's greatest achievement was his involvement in designing the new Defender, which has gone on to become the car firm's most lucrative product.
McGovern's greatest successes came in the reinvention of the new Defender and securing Range Rover's prominence as a luxury sub-brand.
In 2020 he was appointed JLR's chief creative officer and a member of the board.
In the same year, McGovern received an OBE for his services to automotive design.
He studied Industrial Design at Coventry University and Automotive Design at the Royal College of Art and has since built an international career spanning more than 40 years.