New CAO (Chief Accounting Officer) Hired by Rivian

[PVguy]

6.4 million package? C’mon Rivian….

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rivian-swipes-tesla-vet-cao-133112918.html

Rivian swipes Tesla vet for CAO

• Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive named Sreela Venkataratnam — an 11-year alum of EV competitor Tesla — to the role of its chief accounting officer effective Monday, the Irvine, California-based company said in a Friday securities filing and press release.
• Venkataratnam, who most recently served as vice president of finance and business operations at the Austin, Texas-based Tesla, will receive an annual base salary of $425,000 in association with her appointment and will be eligible for an annual target bonus opportunity of 50% of her base, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She will also receive a restricted stock unit award with an aggregate value of $6 million, and a one-time cash singing bonus of $20,000, the company said.

Venkataratnam will take over for Rivian CFO Claire McDonough as the company’s principal accounting officer, with McDonough having occupied that role on an interim basis, according to the filing. In her role as CAO, Venkataratnam will report directly to McDonough.

“After spending over a decade at Tesla, where I had the privilege of scaling the organization, I’m eager to bring my experience to Rivian,” Venkataratnam wrote in a Friday LinkedIn post. “I look forward to strengthening the finance and accounting functions at Rivian — driving scalable and efficient processes, leveraging technology for financial transformation, and supporting the company’s long-term growth.”

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[Donald Stanfield]

The money is irrelevant if the results attained from the hire exceed the cost of the employee. This is an important position, and the 6 million is a conditional stock award. She won't get it if she doesn't provide value above the award. Scooping up C-Suite talent from Tesla is a good move for Rivian.

 

[McLovin]

From the article:

• Venkataratnam, who most recently served as vice president of finance and business operations at the Austin, Texas-based Tesla, will receive an annual base salary of $425,000 in association with her appointment and will be eligible for an annual target bonus opportunity of 50% of her base, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She will also receive a restricted stock unit award with an aggregate value of $6 million, and a one-time cash singing bonus of $20,000, the company said.

I see no issues with this. $425k in California isn’t that egregious of a base salary, considering her position. And if she meets her targets, then she gets her bonus.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

From the article:

• Venkataratnam, who most recently served as vice president of finance and business operations at the Austin, Texas-based Tesla, will receive an annual base salary of $425,000 in association with her appointment and will be eligible for an annual target bonus opportunity of 50% of her base, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She will also receive a restricted stock unit award with an aggregate value of $6 million, and a one-time cash singing bonus of $20,000, the company said.

I see no issues with this. $425k in California isn’t that egregious of a base salary, considering her position. And if she meets her targets, then she gets her bonus.

She's also getting 6 million in conditional stock awards. It was in a further paragraph.

 

[McLovin]

She's also getting 6 million in conditional stock awards. It was in a further paragraph.

Yeah, I saw in the section I quoted. But…that’s like Monopoly money. Who knows how much it will be worth when the restrictions come off. Could be $2mil, could be $15mil.

Personally I’m hoping for the latter as that will mean my investment is worth more as well

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Yeah, I saw in the section I quoted. But…that’s like Monopoly money. Who knows how much it will be worth when the restrictions come off. Could be $2mil, could be $15mil.

Personally I’m hoping for the latter as that will mean my investment is worth more as well

Everyone who holds Rivian stock should hope her bonus is more than the 6 million. Higher value stock is good for all stock holders.

 

[DuoRivian]

Seems like title inflation. They have a CFO, why they need to have further executives with made up C titles.

 

[Schroederhc]

From the article:

• Venkataratnam, who most recently served as vice president of finance and business operations at the Austin, Texas-based Tesla, will receive an annual base salary of $425,000 in association with her appointment and will be eligible for an annual target bonus opportunity of 50% of her base, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. She will also receive a restricted stock unit award with an aggregate value of $6 million, and a one-time cash singing bonus of $20,000, the company said.

I see no issues with this. $425k in California isn’t that egregious of a base salary, considering her position. And if she meets her targets, then she gets her bonus.

If she performs its a bargain.

 

[captainjp]

Seems like title inflation. They have a CFO, why they need to have further executives with made up C titles.

Lol

 

[RWerksman]

Seems like title inflation. They have a CFO, why they need to have further executives with made up C titles.

Titles are fungible. The requirements in place on the business are not.

 

[DuoRivian]

Titles are fungible. The requirements in place on the business are not.

I understand and we have well established titles and roles - CEO, COO, CFO but when we have Chief People Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, Chief Scientific Officer it just gets bizarre. Nothing wrong with being SVP HR, or Head of R&D instead of those C titles.

 

[mkg3]

I understand and we have well established titles and roles - CEO, COO, CFO but when we have Chief People Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, Chief Scientific Officer it just gets bizarre. Nothing wrong with being SVP HR, or Head of R&D instead of those C titles.

In another company, the CAO is often called the Comptroller. It is to raise the focus on accounting matters and not just overall finance.

CAO/Comptroller deals with compliance to GAAP (generally accepted accounting practice) and FAS (federal accounting standards). While accounting is a part of the corporate finance, CFO is usually more focused on typical 10k/10Q filing pro forma in general.

 

[mkg3]

The other thing is maybe it took a C-suite title to get the person to come over...

 

[electruck]

I would never be eligible to receive a "singing" bonus for any position. ?

 

[Laserboy1054]

I would never be eligible to receive a "singing" bonus for any position. ?

Way to actually read the text! I missed that typo first time through! ?

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