Dive Brief:
- Jeffrey Baker is resigning from his role as Rivian’s chief accounting officer after three years with the electric vehicle maker, according to a securities filing.
- The financial executive, who joined the startup in May 2021 from the Clorox Company, will pursue another opportunity. His resignation is effective July 27, the filing states.
- Rivian CFO Claire McDonough will serve as the company’s principal accounting officer on an interim basis while the EV maker conducts a search to fill the role.
Dive Insight:
Rivian has announced other key executive changes this year, including the hiring of Volvo COO Javier Varela, who will join the company as COO in August.
Earlier this year, Rivian hired former Meta and Amazon executive Jennifer Prenner to lead its marketing efforts earlier this year, and former Apple Inc. executive Jonas Reinke as VP of product management in January.
The latest C-suite vacancy comes just weeks after Volkswagen announced it will invest $1 billion in Rivian. The automakers also plan to form a joint venture to develop next-generation electrical/electronic architecture for EVs.
Baker expressed his excitement for the VW partnership in a LinkedIn post.
“It really helps to validate some of the unique and market leading offerings Rivian brings to the auto market!” he wrote.
McDonough has played an active role in driving down Rivian’s costs of production.
The startup lost $38,784 per vehicle in Q1, compared to the roughly $43,000 it lost per vehicle in 2023. In a May earnings call, McDonough said the company expects the lower variable costs to be the biggest driver of gross profit improvement this year.
“While we don’t expect to fully realize these benefits until the second half of 2024, we believe these changes position Rivian to exit 2024 with a much improved margin profile,” she said.
