Thierry Bolloré

Thierry Bolloré
Bolloré in 2021
Thierry Bolloré
Born	Thierry Yves Henri Bolloré 30 5, 1963
Birthplace	Quimper, Brittany, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Businessman, automotive executive
Title	Former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover
Known for	Former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover and Renault
Education	Paris Dauphine University (MBA)
Children	5

Thierry Yves Henri Bolloré (born 30 May 1963) is a French businessman and automotive industry executive who served as chief executive officer of two major global automakers within the span of three years. A member of the prominent Bolloré family, he rose through the ranks of the European automotive supply chain over a career spanning more than three decades, holding senior positions at Michelin and Faurecia before joining Renault in 2012. Bolloré became a central figure in one of the most turbulent periods in modern automotive history when, following the dramatic arrest of Carlos Ghosn in November 2018, he was elevated first to acting CEO and then to CEO of Renault. His tenure at the French carmaker lasted only eleven months before he was abruptly dismissed by the board of directors in October 2019 in what he publicly described as a "coup." In 2020, Bolloré was appointed CEO of British luxury automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), where he launched an ambitious electrification and transformation strategy known as "Reimagine" before resigning in November 2022, citing personal reasons. Following his departure from JLR, he took on a directorial role at battery technology start-up About:Energy in 2023.

Early Life

Thierry Yves Henri Bolloré was born on 30 May 1963 in Quimper, a city in the Brittany region of northwestern France. He is a member of the Bolloré family, one of France's notable industrial dynasties with roots in Brittany.

Details regarding Bolloré's childhood and upbringing in Brittany are not extensively documented in public sources. His subsequent career trajectory, however, indicates an early orientation toward the industrial and manufacturing sectors that would define his professional life. He would go on to spend the first two decades of his career at Michelin, the French tyre manufacturer also headquartered in France, before moving into the broader automotive industry through executive roles at major suppliers and, eventually, automakers themselves.

Education

Bolloré holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Paris Dauphine University, one of France's leading institutions for business and economics education. This qualification provided the foundation for his career in industrial management and executive leadership within the automotive sector.

Career

Michelin (early career)

Bolloré began his professional career at Michelin, the French multinational tyre manufacturer. He spent approximately two decades at the company, gaining extensive experience in manufacturing, operations, and supply chain management within the automotive components industry. His long tenure at Michelin provided him with deep knowledge of the global automotive supply chain and international manufacturing operations, experience that would later prove instrumental in his subsequent executive roles.

Faurecia (2005–2012)

In 2005, Bolloré left Michelin to join Faurecia, a major French automotive parts manufacturer and one of the world's largest automotive suppliers. At Faurecia, he took on senior leadership responsibilities, further broadening his expertise in the automotive components sector. His time at Faurecia represented a transition from tyre manufacturing to the broader automotive supply industry, positioning him for the move to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that would follow.

Renault (2012–2019)

Chief Competitive Officer

Bolloré joined Renault in 2012 as Chief Competitive Officer, a senior role within the French automaker's executive committee. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing the company's competitiveness strategy, working under the leadership of then-CEO Carlos Ghosn, who simultaneously served as chairman and CEO of both Renault and its Japanese alliance partner Nissan.

Over the following years, Bolloré rose through the Renault hierarchy. In February 2018, he was named Chief Operating Officer (COO), a promotion that placed him as the second-most-senior executive at the company, directly behind Ghosn. The COO appointment was seen as establishing Bolloré as a key operational leader within the company and the broader Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance.

Elevation to CEO following Ghosn's arrest

On 19 November 2018, Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo by Japanese prosecutors on charges of financial misconduct, an event that sent shockwaves through the global automotive industry and created an immediate leadership vacuum at Renault. The French government, which holds a significant stake in Renault, backed Bolloré as the interim leader of the company.

On 20 November 2018, Renault's board of directors convened and appointed Bolloré as "acting CEO" (directeur général par intérim), tasking him with maintaining the company's operations and its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors during the crisis. The appointment was also reported by CNBC, the Financial Times, and other major financial outlets, reflecting the global significance of the leadership transition at one of the world's largest automotive groups.

Bolloré's role was subsequently confirmed as full CEO of Renault, a position he held from late 2018. During this period, he faced the challenge of managing the fallout from the Ghosn affair while navigating the complex political dynamics of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, in which tensions between the French and Japanese partners had been exacerbated by the crisis.

Dismissal from Renault

On 11 October 2019, after approximately eleven months as CEO, Bolloré was removed from his position by Renault's board of directors with "immediate effect" during an emergency board meeting. The abrupt dismissal came amid growing reports of friction with alliance partner Nissan, as well as allegations concerning the use of company funds for consulting engagements with the Boston Consulting Group.

The move was widely covered by international media. The Wall Street Journal reported on Bolloré's removal, noting the broader context of instability within the alliance. French business daily Les Echos reported that Bolloré described the board's action as a "stupefying coup de force" ("coup de force stupéfiant"), expressing his belief that the dismissal was unjustified and politically motivated. Le Monde also covered the end of Bolloré's tenure at Renault in detail. The BBC characterised the dismissal as a "coup," reflecting Bolloré's own description of events.

The Financial Times reported on the broader governance implications of Bolloré's removal, situating it within the ongoing power struggles at the top of the Renault-Nissan alliance following Ghosn's downfall.

Jaguar Land Rover (2020–2022)

Appointment

On 28 July 2020, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the British luxury automaker owned by India's Tata Motors, announced the appointment of Bolloré as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 10 September 2020. He succeeded Ralf Speth, who had led JLR since 2010. The appointment was also reported by The Guardian, which noted that Bolloré was the "ousted Renault boss" being given a second chance at leading a major automaker. India's Economic Times covered the appointment as a significant leadership change for the company.

The "Reimagine" strategy

At JLR, Bolloré launched an ambitious transformation programme known as "Reimagine," which outlined the company's strategy for electrification and repositioning of its brands. The plan envisioned transforming Jaguar into an all-electric luxury brand and accelerating the introduction of electric and hybrid powertrains across the Land Rover and Range Rover lineups. The Wall Street Journal reported that Bolloré had worked to accelerate the electrification of core JLR models such as the Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender.

In June 2021, Bolloré gave what Autocar described as his "only sit-down interview" with the publication during his tenure, discussing the direction of the company under the Reimagine strategy.

The Reimagine strategy proved to be a significant and, in retrospect, contentious undertaking. Torque News later characterised it as "a risky plan that alienated" part of Jaguar's existing customer base, reflecting debate within the automotive industry and among enthusiasts about the wisdom of such a radical repositioning of the Jaguar brand.

Resignation

On 16 November 2022, JLR announced that Bolloré had resigned as CEO, citing "personal reasons." The departure came after approximately two years in the role. The Wall Street Journal noted that his exit came at a pivotal moment for the company, as it was in the midst of executing the electrification and transformation strategy he had initiated. The Guardian reported the resignation, noting that Bolloré had been in the position since September 2020.

Following Bolloré's departure, Adrian Mardell, a long-serving JLR executive, was appointed as interim and then permanent CEO in 2023.

Post-JLR career

In December 2023, Bolloré joined About:Energy, a battery technology start-up, as a director. About:Energy is a company that provides battery measurement and modelling services, a field closely tied to the automotive industry's shift toward electrification. The move signalled Bolloré's continued involvement in the automotive and energy sectors, albeit in a smaller and more technology-focused capacity than his previous roles leading major automakers.

Personal Life

Bolloré was born in Quimper, Brittany, and is a member of the Bolloré family, a prominent French industrial family. He has five children. He has maintained a relatively private personal life, and his resignation from Jaguar Land Rover in November 2022 was attributed to unspecified "personal reasons."

Recognition

Bolloré's career has been defined by his leadership of two of Europe's major automotive companies during periods of significant transition. His appointment as acting CEO and then CEO of Renault in the immediate aftermath of the Carlos Ghosn affair placed him at the centre of one of the most closely watched corporate governance crises in the automotive industry. The speed of his elevation — from COO to acting CEO within a day of Ghosn's arrest — and his subsequent dismissal eleven months later drew extensive coverage from international media outlets including the Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Les Echos, and the BBC.

His appointment to lead Jaguar Land Rover less than a year after his removal from Renault was noted by the automotive press as a remarkable return to the highest levels of the industry. The Reimagine strategy he launched at JLR, whatever its long-term outcomes, represented one of the more ambitious transformation programmes undertaken by a legacy automaker in the transition to electric vehicles.

Legacy

Bolloré's legacy in the automotive industry is closely linked to the two CEO tenures that defined the latter portion of his career. At Renault, his time as CEO was overshadowed by the circumstances of his appointment — the arrest and fall of Carlos Ghosn — and the acrimony of his departure. His description of his dismissal as a "stupefying coup de force" became one of the defining quotes of the Renault governance crisis, and his removal was seen as part of the broader unravelling of the Ghosn era at the company.

At Jaguar Land Rover, Bolloré's principal legacy is the Reimagine strategy, which set the direction for the company's transition toward electrification and the repositioning of the Jaguar brand as an all-electric luxury marque. The strategy remained in place after his departure, though subsequent reporting by Autocar and Torque News indicated that the direction he set was subject to reassessment and potential revision under his successors. Autocar noted in 2025 that JLR had not launched a new car since 2022, a period that encompassed the final months of Bolloré's tenure and the transition to new leadership, suggesting that the company faced significant execution challenges in carrying out the transformation programme.

His subsequent move to About:Energy, a battery technology start-up, in 2023 indicated a continued interest in the electrification of the automotive sector, though in a role far removed from the C-suite of a global automaker.

Bolloré's career arc — from decades of operational experience at Michelin and Faurecia, to a senior executive role at Renault, to two brief but eventful CEO tenures at Renault and JLR — reflects the volatile leadership dynamics of the global automotive industry during a period of profound technological and strategic transformation.