A CEO Talks Shop

Citroen chief executive Linda Jackson is as well versed in engine design as she is in automotive success strategies.

- Ian De Cotta

Linda Jackson lights up when the discussion is about cars. She talks automation, design, and aerodynamics with the ease of a pro. Lift up the bonnet of a car and she can give a master class on what makes its engine work.

The 60-year-old Briton is not a mechanic. She is the global chief executive officer of French carmaker Citroen, which is an anomaly because no Briton or woman has ever led the company.

But under her leadership, Jackson is reviving Citroen’s fortunes that dipped from 2009 because of a slump in the European economy. Since taking charge in 2014, she has been able to reverse the tide and guide it on an upward trend.

In the first half of 2019, parent company Groupe PSA reported the carmaker achieved an eight-year sales record with the strongest growth – on the back of its SUV range of the C5 Aircross and C3 Aircross – among the top 12 brands in Europe.

Jackson is now crisscrossing the globe to buttress the marque’s existing markets and re-enter India after more than two decades. The brand’s first attempt to enter that huge market with joint ventures in the 1990s ended in failure after only three years.

BUSTING GENDER ROLES

So, just who is this superwoman? She could certainly pass off as just another ordinary Englishwoman on the street, despite her lofty position in one of France’s most storied automotive companies.