Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has named former BMW and Ford executive Ralf Speth CEO with overall responsibility for its operations.

He will report to Carl-Peter Forster, recently appointed group CEO of parent Tata Motors.

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Speth’s predecessor in the JLR CEO role was David Smith, who left the company abruptly in January amid stalled negotiations with labour unions over pay and conditions.

Only on Monday, Tata Motors Motors had told just-auto any decision to replace Smith was “still open.”

Speth, 54, has over 22 years experience in the European auto industry, most of which was at BMW where he also worked when it owned Land Rover.

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Later he was production, quality and product planning director at Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) which encompassed the blue oval’s then-premium brands Lincoln, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo. After that, Speth was with Germany’s Linde group where he was head of global operations. Linde’s current president and CEO is Wolfgang Reitzle, a former chairman and CEO of PAG and top BMW executive and board member, who was recently elected supervisory board chairman of tyre and component maker Continental.

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Tata Motors vice chairman Ravi Kant said: “The introduction of Dr Ralf Speth into Jaguar Land Rover under the guidance of Carl-Peter Forster will considerably strengthen the management of the company and enhance the position and reputation of the two iconic brands in line with the long term strategy of the company.”

See also: Ex-GM Europe boss Carl-Peter Forster joins Tata