John Egan

The Man Who Saved the Jaguar

July 11, 1939

Sir John Egan is British industrialist, he was the CEO and Chairman of Jaguar Cars from 1980 to 1990, and Chairman of Jaguar PLC (Public Limited Company) from 1985 to 1990. John Egan was born November 7, 1939 in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, the son of a garage owner. The family moved to Coventry where he attended Bablake School. He studied petroleum engineering at Imperial College London and then worked for Shell in the Middle East from 1962 to 1966. He later moved to AC Delco in 1968 and then to British Leyland where he played a role in developing the Unipart business. After four years at Massey Ferguson, John Egan was named chairman of Jaguar Cars. On April 17, 1980, Jaguar announced in a press release that that John Egan has been appointed CEO and Chairman of Jaguar Cars Ltd., which he was from 1980 to 1990. In the most difficult time of the early and mid-1980s, he managed to raise the quality of cars, negotiate with workers and stop long-term strikes, increase the number of cars produced in the company, and also expand the model range. After buying Ford for £1.6bn of Jaguar Cars, Sir John Egan moved to the position of chairman of the BAA (British Airports Authority). In June 1986 he was knighted. His contribution to the development of Jaguar Cars is enormous and second only to founder Sir William Lyons. They call him "The Man Who Saved the Jaguar"! In the most difficult time of the early and mid-1980s, he managed to raise the quality of cars, negotiate with workers and stop long-term strikes, increase the number of cars produced in the company, and also expand the model range. After buying Ford for £1.6bn of Jaguar Cars, Sir John Egan moved to the position of chairman of the BAA (British Airports Authority). In June 1986 he was knighted. His contribution to the development of Jaguar Cars is enormous and second only to founder Sir William Lyons. They call him "The Man Who Saved the Jaguar"! In the most difficult time of the early and mid-1980s, he managed to raise the quality of cars, negotiate with workers and stop long-term strikes, increase the number of cars produced in the company, and also expand the model range. After buying Ford for £1.6bn of Jaguar Cars, Sir John Egan moved to the position of chairman of the BAA (British Airports Authority). In June 1986 he was knighted. His contribution to the development of Jaguar Cars is enormous and second only to founder Sir William Lyons. They call him "The Man Who Saved the Jaguar"! In June 1986 he was knighted. His contribution to the development of Jaguar Cars is enormous and second only to founder Sir William Lyons. They call him "The Man Who Saved the Jaguar"! In June 1986 he was knighted. His contribution to the development of Jaguar Cars is enormous and second only to founder Sir William Lyons. They call him "The Man Who Saved the Jaguar"!