Citroën CEO Linda Jackson is set to be replaced by a former Nissan and Mitsubishi executive in a shake-up of the French firm's leadership, reports suggest.
German automotive publication Automobilwoche cites sources that claim Jackson, the first English woman and only the third woman in history to run a major car maker, will be moved to another role within the PSA Group. What this will be is yet to be disclosed, however.
In the report Jackson’s replacement is said to be Vincent Cobee, a Frenchman who held previous roles at Nissan and was Mitsubishi’s head of production until April, when a management reshuffle took place within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the wake of CEO Carlos Ghosn’s arrest.
However, Citroën has since sent a statement to Autocar claiming that Cobee's position isn't what is reported. It doesn't deny the reports about Jackson's departure, however.
"Vincent Cobee has indeed joined the Citroën management team" the statement confirms. "As of October 1, 2019, he has been appointed deputy to the brand nanager in charge of accelerating the development of the brand internationally. In this capacity, he will be part of the Citroën Executive Committee".
This statement doesn't necessarily change reports tha he will succeed Jackon in due course. If true, it's said that Cobee’s main responsibility would be improving Citroën’s sales outside of its home country. The brand’s European market share was at 4.5% when Jackson took the helm in 2014 and has hovered around the same point since then.
Read more:
Why Citroën CEO Linda Jackson won Autocar's Great British Women award
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Reshuffle
Reliability you said? BMW, Benz, Toyota & Audi trail Citroen
Check JD Power UK Reliability Index 2019
Peugeot #1.
Citroen ahaed of Benz, Andi and Toyota.
Last: BMW!!
Why a doomsday theory?
A CEO replacement after 5 years isn't abnormal. Maybe she seeks a better living / work balance. Citroen is one of the rare car manufactures with higher EU sales in 2019, after an already successful 2018. Even better: margin soared, surpassing Benz, VW and Volvo,
Rick Maverick wrote:
A good point well made. Needed for those who happily negate the efforts of those they do not understand. If she had been poor, they would not have waited anything like five years to move her.
Oh dear...
When you're already CEO, there's only one direction of travel for you in a reshuffle (assuming Ms Jackson is not going to be appointed Executive Chairman of PSA)