'Product, product, product'

The fleet in front of the office block consists largely of company vehicles for senior
management, I am told. The two brands continue to exert their presence inside the
building, and inside Speth's glass-walled office, which is almost entirely bare of decorative
accessories. Only a Jaguar print/artwork on the wall and a few miniature models of specific
Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles add vibrancy to the room-he describes each one in some
detail.
By now, I've realized that Speth is clearly more than a design enthusiast -he is the only
chief executive I've met to test my knowledge in this sphere. Before we begin our
conversation, he walks me around the office, shows me a series of iconic wall-clocks in the
cafeteria, and asks me to name the designer. Luckily I know the answer-email me if you'd
like to know.
Speth's L-shaped desk is conventional, with a shiny chrome frame that reflects the
company's industrial character. Although the room is large enough to accommodate a sixseater meeting table and a storage cabinet with a TV, there is little difference between
Speth's cabin and those of his senior colleagues next to him. "The office was designed by
our designers," Speth says, in a distinctive German accent.
The spare, non-hierarchical room, with just premium automobiles on display, is entirely
congruous with Speth's strategic drive to focus on "product, product, product" and
"whatever it takes to come up with competitive vehicles, with a killer combination of design
and engineering". A seasoned automotive industry professional, 57-year-old Speth insists:
"The priority is not to shoot for financial figures or for volumes, the focus is on the
products. If we deliver a solid product, engineer it in a solid way, have a good design, then
I am quite sure we can make good business."
Engineering a turnaround
It is a business mantra that has served the company well, so far. Speth joined the
company in February 2010, when it was beginning to show the first signs of profitability.
Since then, new product launches and global market expansion have propelled annual
sales and profits before tax to 15.8 billion (around Rs.1.4 trillion) and 1.675 billion,
respectively, for the year ending March 2013. The company is now regarded as a posterchild of British manufacturing competitiveness.
Speth's obvious passion for industrial design conceals an equally critical aspect of his
personality-the engineer's ability to deal with detail, especially in tweaking and refining
business strategy, until there is smooth alignment between all moving parts.

This becomes evident when he discusses how the turnaround took place. "We tried to do
restructuring and growth simultaneously, to free up cash and to inject that money into new
programmes," he explains. "You have to know how you do it, where you do it, and when
you can do it. We precisely define when and how much money to inject, to get the best
results," he adds.
Investment in new products was accompanied by significant new hires in manufacturing, to
cope with increased demand and a greater presence in previously underdeveloped
markets such as China, which is now nearly as large as Europe in terms of sales.
Moderating the scale, timing and choice of investment is particularly important for the
company since its key competitors, including Mercedes, Audi and BMW, are significantly
larger in volumes and revenue. "Volkswagen profits are higher than our sales," Speth
points out. "We have to decide what is the right innovation, the right technology, what is the
right product portfolio, in an even more thoroughly thought through way, in order to make
sure we can grow in a profitable and sustainable way," he says.
Managing nationalities
Speth's job also includes managing alignment of a different sort. Jaguar Land Rover has
an assortment of varied stakeholders-a distinctively British heritage, a largely British
workforce, an Indian parent and global sales operations, with an expanding Chinese
footprint.
Some of these are reflected in the building. Three framed certificates with the royal family's
crest are placed in the building's foyer. These "royal warrants" officially certify that Jaguar
Land Rover is a supplier of motor vehicles to the queen, the duke of Edinburgh and the
prince of Wales, and explicitly cite Speth as the recipient of the warrant. "We are the only
(motor vehicle) company with three royal warrants," Speth says.
Interestingly, the Tata brand is not particularly visible at the corporate headquarters. Speth
says it was discussed internally, as well as with the Tatas, and the conclusion was to not
display it, although he doesn't recall the reasons for the decision.
His views on the Tata group are much less ambiguous. "It is a British company but the
owner is Tata. Without Tata, JLR could not exist at all, that's as simple as it is," he says.
Speth points out that there is a dedicated office near his own for visiting Tata colleagues.
He particularly admires the "visionary approach" of the Tata group's chairman-emeritus
Ratan Tata, and the group's "mid- to long-term" business outlook, adding that he feels
"very well integrated into the Tata empire".

Comentario.
Speth dice que busca "la competencia y la pasin por el negocio, para coches y para sus
marcas. No quieren ver a sus empresas s que se encuentren en el stano del museo de
la herencia britnica, estando muertos como una marca. Quieren ser vivo. Quieren
sentarse en la mesa principal de los fabricantes premium de automviles de todo el
mundo. Basta ya de una misin para galvanizar Speth para iniciar su jornada de trabajo a
las 7 am, y seguir trabajando hasta despus de la cena.
Jess Hernndez