• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Jaguar Land Rover CEO Joe Eberhardt is resigning from the luxury automaker after nearly 13 years. 

JLR confirmed that Eberhardt "has decided to leave JLR to pursue new opportunities.” He will continue to support the company in a consultancy role through 2026.

Replacing him as interim North American CEO is Lennard Hoornik, who became JLR's chief growth officer in 2021.

Eberhardt, who could not be reached for comment, is the fourth top executive to leave in recent months.

Former CMO Charlotte Blank left in May. PB Balaji replaced JLR veteran Adrian Mardell as global CEO in November. Gerry McGovern departed as chief creative officer three months ago.

Only one day before Eberhardt’s departure was reported, the automaker laid out a plan that included more focus on North America and a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Stellantis to explore product and technology development in the U.S.

This isn’t the first time Eberhardt has left an automaker. In 2006, he resigned as the Chrysler group’s executive vice president of global sales, marketing and service, to return to automotive retailing within the Mercedes-Benz network in the United States.

Eberhardt’s impending departure from JLR could impact the automaker’s marketing. As a longtime New York University adjunct marketing instructor, he has been a CEO with a more hands-on approach to the company’s marketing. He also spent three years as the top marketer of Mercedes-Benz USA before becoming its chief commercial officer.

Besides being president and CEO, Eberhardt assumed the role of CMO for two full years after Kim McCullough resigned from the company in April 2020.

Eberhardt was heavily involved with the creation of the Defender Service Awards six years ago. The philanthropy-driven initiative has grown into a program supported by multiple non-automotive brands including Chase, Artemis, BBC, Disney, ei3, OUTSIDE Interactive, Inc., Pelican, S&P Global Mobility and WPP.

Eberhart promoted Blank to the CMO role in October 2022. But she recently left the company not long after having been shifted into North America Brand Director, Defender and Discovery.

JLR’s CMO duties are currently split between between Stuart Schorr and Danny Zhu.

Schorr, who has been at JLR for 17 years, is vice president, marketing and public relations communications. He previously focused mainly on communications but added brand experience and customer relationship management. Zhu, who has been at the automaker for 2 1/2 years, is director of digital marketing. He is leading media, performance marketing and research.