TSC Staff
Geoff Polites, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover, passed away this weekend at age 60. He died peacefuly at his home in Australia after a two-year battle with a serious illness.
Ford Motor (F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks), in a press release Sunday, credits Polites with "leading the team that returned the Jaguar Land Rover business back to profitability and successfully steering it through its ongoing sale process" to Tata Motors (TTM Quote - Cramer on TTM - Stock Picks). Polites, a 40-year veteran of the auto industry, became CEO of Jaguar Land Rover in 2005. Ford CEO Alan Mulally said of Polites, "His drive and determination, combined with his clear sense of vision for the business, played a huge role in turning round the business at Jaguar Land Rover and returning it to profitability. Geoff ensured that Jaguar Land Rover was not distracted and continued to focus on the fundamentals of the business during the recent sale process, despite at the time also fighting his own personal health battle." David Smith, Jaguar Land Rover's chief financial officer, will take over as acting chief executive officer at Jaguar Land Rover until a successor is named. Ford last month inked a deal to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover lines to India-based Tata in a roughly $2.3 billion deal. Ford's credit arm will provide financing for dealers and customers of the two brands for a year. In addition, Ford will contribute about $600 million of the proceeds into the pensions at Jaguar and Land Rover.
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