HOW I GOT HERE
Linda Jackson reveals her career journey to the top of the car industry, as global CEO of Citroën
Linda Jackson’s incredible career journey
Linda Jackson abandoned her plans of going to university to take a job in the accounts department of Jaguar. She soon rose through the ranks to become finance director of Rover France and, in 2005, she was headhunted by Citroën, where she held several senior positions before being appointed global chief executive. Her first reaction was to turn down the offer, as her husband, David, was battling terminal cancer at the time, but he persuaded her to reconsider. Since taking on the global CEO job in 2014, she has revitalised the 100-year-old automotive brand, and has twice been named by Autocar as the most influential British woman in the car industry.
MY FIRST JOB WAS STAPLING INVOICES TO ORDER SHEETS AT JAGUAR.
It was meant to just be a temporary summer job, but when I learned what the car industry was about, I was hooked and wanted to stay. So, instead of going to university, I decided to have a job and earn some money. Years later, I studied for an MBA in order to move up the ladder.
THERE WEREN’T MANY WOMEN WORKING IN THE CAR INDUSTRY IN THE LATE 1970s.
I learned to run through the factory very quickly to avoid the wolf-whistles. It was a completely different world then. The advantage when there are not many women is that you get noticed. If you are doing a good job, that is probably a good thing.
MY HUSBAND, DAVID, WAS BEING TREATED FOR CANCER WHEN I WAS OFFERED THE JOB OF CEO AT CITROËN. We knew the prognosis wasn’t good. I turned it down initially, but he insisted I take it. He said, ‘You’ve worked so hard to get there, and I am very proud of you. I want you to be able to continue with that.’ It was a difficult time, juggling the job and supporting him through treatment.
WORK HELPED ME AFTER DAVID DIED, BECAUSE IT GAVE ME SOMETHING TO FOCUS ON.
David and I met at Jaguar when I was 19 and we were married for 34 years. But you get through it; you manage. I take what I am doing now almost as a thank you to him for all the support he gave me.
AS CEO, MY CHALLENGE WAS TO REBUILD THE CITROËN BRAND.
I think we had lost our way and become a bit boring. Citroën has been at its most successful when it tried to be different from the rest, so I decided to drop some of the models, and change the emphasis from discounting vehicles. We are still on the journey, but European sales have gone up 28% since I took over.
‘YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN YOUR IDEAS AND FIGHT FOR THEM’
MY BEST ADVICE IS TO WORK HARD AND TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
When you get to my level, you have to convince people about an idea or a product plan. You have to be resilient because sometimes people think what you’re saying is not a good idea. But don’t take no for an answer! You have to believe in your ideas and, sometimes, you have to fight for them.
I TRY TO FOLLOW THE ‘FEELGOOD RULES’ I INTRODUCED AT CITROËN HEADQUARTERS IN PARIS.
There are no meetings before 8am, no meetings after 6pm and no emails at the weekend unless it is an emergency. At the end of the day, you can only achieve results if you have a happy workforce.
TO BE A GOOD LEADER, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LEAD A TEAM OF PEOPLE. You are not Superwoman or Superman; you also have to have a team that delivers. But you need to be able to convince and motivate those people to achieve much more than they think they can.