Rivian CFO Claire McDonough is stepping down

[DuoRivians]

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...s-down-amid-affordable-ev-rollout-2026-08-27/

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Rivian's (RIVN.O) Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough has decided to leave the company, the electric vehicle maker said on Thursday, ‌just as the company ramps up rollout of its smaller and more affordable SUVs amid fragile EV demand in the U.S.

McDonough, a former banker with JPMorgan and Credit Suisse, joined Irvine, California-based Rivian ⁠early in 2021 and took the company through its initial public offering.

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She played a key role in the launch of Rivian's flagship R1T pickups and R1S SUVs, while leading cost-cutting and fundraising efforts as the company races to build a new plant, develop self-driving technology and aims to turn profitable.

Her exit comes at a crucial ‌time ⁠for Rivian. The company started delivering its lower-priced R2 SUVs in June and raised its annual delivery forecast last month, buoyed by optimism over the vehicles that are ⁠seen as critical to the company's success.

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She will help with the transition and step down at the end of October, Rivian ⁠said in a statement, adding that the search for McDonough's replacement was underway. The company's ⁠vice president of finance, Derek Mulvey, is expected to take over in the interim.

Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Leroy Leo

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[Dark-Fx]

Always feel like C-suite people "stepping down" during "crucial time"s have a reason that will never need expounded on.

 

[tivoboy]

timing does seem suspect.. who knows.. we’ll know in a few quarters.

 

[DuoRivians]

Claire will be the new CFO at GE Vernova. She got poached away from Rivian.

 

[Zoidz]

I wouldn't read too much negativity into it. Her statement is that she is leaving for a new opportunity. This year she sold over $1M of her stock, but still owns $13M. She might be moving on to a new opportunity with a much larger company, or perhaps as a owner/seed investor in a startup. SOme people have startup passion in their blood and need to move on when things get "boring".

Edit: After posting this, I see she is going to GE Vernova, a company I know well and am a shareholder of. Our engineering company is an integrator for a software suite they owned for years and recently sold. GE Vernova has been focusing on AI infrastructure and the stock has done quite well for them and for me.

"As I step away for a new opportunity and to be closer to my family on the East Coast, I do so with absolute confidence in Rivian's trajectory, mission, and leadership team."


Has Claire McDonough been buying or selling shares of Rivian Automotive?

Over the course of the past ninety days, Claire McDonough has sold $318,956.00 of Rivian Automotive stock. Most recently, Claire Mcdonough sold 8,023 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a transaction totalling $128,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 819,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,106,848.

 

[Dark-Fx]

"As I step away for a new opportunity and to be closer to my family

Oh boy, anti RJ people, time to raise your pitchforks.

 

[SANZC02]

Does not seem to be a big deal. She came on board for the R1 rollout, was there for the R2 rollout, the Georgia plant initialization, the Normal plant expansions.

She’s 45, been there for a solid 5 years, does not surprise me she would be looking for a new challenge. Looks like she has been hired as the new CFO of GE Vernova.

Derek Mulvey looks like he will be stepping in as interim so there should not be much change as they look for a replacement. It will be interesting to see who they find as a permanent replacement.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Oh boy, anti RJ people, time to raise your pitchforks.

Are you suggesting they went to a Coldplay concert together?

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Disappointing. As other comments mentioned, looks like she got poached by a faster growing company, rather than leaving because she knows something we don't.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Are you suggesting they went to a Coldplay concert together?

You know, I was thinking about having AI recreate this, but I like my R2 being mostly problem free as it is so far, so I will let someone else do it

 

[Here2there]

I will miss her. She always instilled confidence at every interview, press event, and shareholder meetings. Not to mention sometimes she would drop hints of details of what’s to come! I hope whoever steps in will have the same openness and enthusiasm in the company.

 

[ARGi]

Still wondering why a guy from MIT can't get our AC's to work properly.

 

[tivoboy]

Claire will be the new CFO at GE Vernova. She got poached away from Rivian.

Baby wants the Benjamins!.. nice job.

 

[VandalSibs]

Still wondering why a guy from MIT can't get our AC's to work properly.

What does this have to do with the CFO moving to a new job?

 

[Rade]

If any of you watch the YouTube channel, Autoline, this seems to be a seasonal thing in the industry - a lot of announcements of executives shifting around. I won't read any more into this other than to thank her for getting Rivian through the mud and moving forward.

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