Dive Brief:
- Lucid Group co-founder and CEO Peter Rawlinson has resigned from his role, the company announced Tuesday. Lucid named COO Marc Winteroff as interim CEO as it begins its search for a permanent replacement.
- Rawlinson will transition to strategic technical advisor to board Chairman Turqi Alnowaiser though Feb. 21, 2027, according to a regulatory filing.
- With the automaker opening orders of its luxury Gravity SUV in November, Rawlinson said the time was right to step down.
Dive Insight:
Rawlinson’s departure from day-to-day leadership also includes leaving his role as chief technology officer.
“As I step aside it’s important to recognize that Lucid has always been about the team, and the time has now come for me to hand the baton to that very team,” Rawlinson said in his resignation letter.
Lucid is undergoing a C-suite transition that includes last month’s appointment of Taoufiq Boussaid as CFO and the promotion of Emad Dlala to SVP of powertrain on Feb. 13.
Winteroff’s focus will be leading Lucid toward continued growth and profitability, according to Alnowaiser.
“With his extensive background in the automotive industry, Marc is uniquely suited to leading the company during this transition period,” he said in the release. “Under Marc's leadership, we expect business and operations to continue as usual.”
Winterhoff has been COO at Lucid since December 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to that he worked for business consulting firm Roland Berger where he focused on operational leadership, including managing manufacturing and cost efficiencies for large OEMs, Lucid said in its filing.
As interim CEO, Winterhoff will receive a $20,000 stipend for each month he serves in the interim CEO role, as well as stock options, according to a regulatory filing. Rawlinson will be paid $120,000 a month for his advisory position.
Winterhoff said he is prepared to lead the company in its next phase.
"Our team remains focused on further ramping production of the Lucid Gravity, preparing for the launch of our three midsize platform vehicles, and continuing development of our low-cost Atlas drive unit while we aggressively reduce our costs,” he said.
Before joining Lucid, Rawlinson was VP of vehicle engineering at Tesla and chief engineer of the Model S sedan. He also spend a decade at Jaguar, eventually becoming principal engineer working on advanced body structure design.
