Linda Jackson, the CEO of Citroën, has recently been named as the most influential British woman in the car industry.
During the course of her career, Linda Jackson has proved herself worthy of all the accolades and acclaim that came her way. She is not only the first British CEO of Citroën, but also the first woman ever to hold the job.
Appointed in June 2014, Jackson took charge of Citroën in troubled times when its parent company PSA Peugeot Citroën was struggling to curb losses in some of its traditional markets. But her vision was clear. “We want to be more creative, affordable and offer things that really matter to mainstream customers,” she said in an interview back then.
She has definitely delivered on the promise of creativity. One of the examples is the C4 Cactus which featured sleek and slim headlights, innovative plastic side panels, and pop-out rear windows. The Cactus was an instant hit with those who wanted style with substance but at an affordable rate.
It seemed that, with the C4, Jackson had achieved her vision of designing vehicles that were “between different and bizarre.”
However, not everyone is satisfied. Bertrand Rakoto, an automotive consultant, claims “the problem with Citroen is nobody knows exactly what its positioning is compared to the Peugeot brand.”
How successful Jackson’s business strategies are in the future still remains to be seen.