Several Top Rivian Executives Depart the Electric-Vehicle Startup
Several top executives at Rivian Automotive Inc., RIVN -1.02% including the vice president overseeing body engineering and its head of supply chain, have left the electric vehicle maker in recent months.
The exits, confirmed by a Rivian spokeswoman, are the latest developments in what has been a challenging period for Rivian, which launched its first all-electric models but missed a critical production target last year. to complete 25,000 vehicles. The company said it fell short of its goal of about 700 vehicles in part because of difficulty in obtaining parts.
Rivian’s stock has also fallen since its initial public offering in November 2021, falling roughly 79% through Monday’s close.
The executives who left were some of Rivian’s longest-serving employees. Among them are Randy Frank, vice president of body and interior engineering, and Steve Gawronski, vice president of parts purchasing. Both had left around the beginning of this year.
Mr. Frank joined Rivian in 2019 from Ford Motor Co. Mr. Gawronski joined in 2018 from autonomous vehicle startup Zoox.
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Another early employee, Patrick Hunt, a senior director in the strategy team, left the company late last year. Mr. Hunt joined Rivian in 2015.
Rivian’s general counsel, Neil Sitron, left in September after 4 1/2 years with the company, which was founded in 2009.
Rivian’s spokeswoman said the moves were made to ensure the startup has the talent and staff it needs to ramp up production. The company declined to comment on the individual circumstances of the departures.
“We continue to attract world-class talent to our company as our business needs change,” she said.
The departures mark the latest shakeup at the top of Rivian, which has brought in new executives to oversee the company’s manufacturing operations. The company’s first full year of factory production was marred by supply chain issues and difficulty getting the assembly line running at full speed.
Tim Fallon, former Nissan Motor Co. plant chief. in Canton, Miss., was hired in early 2022 to run Rivian’s sole plant in Normal, Ill.
In June, Rivian hired Frank Klein as chief operating officer from contract manufacturer Magna Steyr.
In a November email to employees reviewed by the Journal, Mr. Klein wrote that with Mr.
Mr. Klein added that Rivian was reorganizing its supply chain management, putting a vice president in charge of supply chain and logistics, and another in charge of parts procurement.
He also announced that Rivian had hired Andreas Reutter from toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker Inc. to oversee Rivian’s supply chain logistics.
—Updates to follow as news develops.
Rivian is under pressure to prove it can build its electric trucks at scale without ramping up production first, as competition heats up from older automakers. The WSJ visited Rivian and Ford’s EV plants to see how they’re trying to keep up with demand. Illustration: Adam Falk/The Wall Street Journal
Email Sean McLain at [email protected] and Nora Eckert at [email protected]
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