Dive Brief:
- Rivian has hired former Meta and Amazon executive Jennifer Prenner to lead its marketing efforts, the automaker announced in a LinkedIn post on Monday.
- She will serve as the company’s vice president of marketing, a Rivian spokesperson confirmed in an email to Automotive Dive. Prenner will report to Kjell Gruner, chief commercial officer and president of business growth, the spokesperson said.
- The move comes weeks before Rivian unveils its new R2, the automaker’s smaller, more affordable electric crossover.
Dive Insight:
Rivian has overhauled its top management as it prepares to launch its first mainstream electric vehicle in a bid to achieve profitability — the automaker lost over $1.3 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Prenner most recently served as vice president of global marketing for Meta’s virtual and augmented reality business, Reality Labs, before taking a year-long sabbatical. She previously held several marketing roles at Amazon, Verizon and CenturyLink.
Rivian has been on a hiring spree since last summer, bringing in executives from established automakers and major tech companies.
In August, Rivian named former Carvana executive and White House official Alan Hoffman as its chief policy officer and added John Krafcik, former Hyundai Motor America and Waymo CEO, to its board.
Weeks later, Gruner, the former CEO of Porsche Cars North America, joined the EV startup to oversee sales, marketing, customer care, delivery service and fleet.
In December, Rivian said regulatory filing that founder and CEO RJ Scaringe would take on additional responsibilities and lead all product development, while outgoing Chief Product Development Officer Nick Kalayjian would take a step back before serving in an advisory role.
Rivian also announced in January that Jonas Reinke, former head of product, mobility and automotive services at Apple, would join the EV startup as vice president of product management. Reinke held several roles at Porsche before joining Apple.
Rivian will debut its new mid-size R2 on March 7, which is due to hit the market in 2026. During the company’s November earnings call, Scaringe said the R2 would cost between $45,000 and $50,000.
