EV startup Rivian, which has facilities in Michigan, California and Illinois, plans to introduce its first EV, a five-passenger pickup, in 2020, followed by a seven-passenger SUV. The company recently announced the appointment of five new executives.
Mark Vinnels has joined the company as Executive Director of Engineering and Vehicle Programs. Prior to joining Rivian, he led the development of multiple clean-sheet vehicle programs. He was the Executive Program Director at McLaren from 2004 through 2017, responsible for all of McLaren’s road cars. Before McLaren, Vinnels was the Head of Vehicle Programs at Group Lotus.
Matt Tall has been named Vice President of Manufacturing. He has experience in all key manufacturing disciplines, as well as product engineering and business development. Most recently, Tall was the Plant Manager at AM General’s plant in Indiana, which was responsible for the assembly of the Mercedes Benz R-Class.
Ryan Green, Rivian’s new Chief Financial Officer, was most recently the CFO of Harley Davidson’s Financial Services company in North America, and has previous experience at Bayer and Visteon/Ford.
Christopher Brown has been named Rivian’s Chief Commercial Officer. He has held senior leadership positions with Nissan, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover in the US, China and the Middle East.
Neil Sitron has been named as general counsel. He has represented clients including Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, NEX Group BAE Systems, Polar Tankers and the Global Environment Fund.
“All five of these leaders have a proven track record and most importantly, a passion and curiosity that will drive success,” said Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “These appointments underscore Rivian’s ability to attract the top talent needed to advance the industry’s shift to electric, autonomous and shared mobility.”
Source: Rivian