Former Porsche NA CEO Kjell Gruner is joining Rivian

[DuoRivians]

https://www.autonews.com/executives/rivian-could-snag-porsches-former-top-executive-kjell-gruner

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[evhelphub]

I'm liking the talent Rivian is bringing in.

I wonder if he knows some top engineers that want to come along.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Article appears to be behind a paywall. Anyone with access want to copy & paste?

 

[electruck]

Article appears to be behind a paywall. Anyone with access want to copy & paste?

All it takes to access is your browser's "reader view".

Former Porsche U.S. top executive said to be jumping to Rivian
Urvaksh Karkaria

~4 minutes


Porsche Cars North America's former top executive, Kjell Gruner, is said to be headed to the U.S. electric vehicle upstart Rivian Automotive, sources have told Automotive News.
Gruner did not return a request for comment on email and LinkedIn this week.
When reached for comment, a Rivian spokesperson said: "I don't have any information to provide at this time."
On Thursday, Germany's Manager Magazin also reported that Gruner is expected to take a job at Rivian.
On July 5, Porsche announced Gruner was leaving the sports carmaker "at his own request" and less than three years on the job.
In his relatively short tenure as CEO, Gruner steered Porsche's U.S. business through the pandemic and set the brand on track to hit a three-year sales high this year.
Porsche told dealers it expects U.S. sales to hit 80,000 next year, up nearly 15 percent from 2022.
Gruner's role at Rivian is unknown, but the executive is not likely to replace founder RJ Scaringe as CEO.
With a marketing, operations and strategy background at established auto brands, Gruner could help the EV maker in various capacities. Before his most recent role, Gruner was Porsche AG's chief marketing officer and global vice president of marketing.
Gruner joined Porsche in 1999 from Boston Consulting Group. In 2004, he left Porsche for Daimler, where he rose to director of strategy for Mercedes-Benz Cars before returning to Porsche in 2010.
Gruner is well-suited to a public company because of his background in marketing, a Porsche retailer said.
"He's attuned to ever-changing consumer trends and knows which variants and models are likely to move," said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified.
Landing a top executive from an iconic automotive brand, such as Porsche, would bring cachet to Rivian, which seeks to "penetrate the high end of the market," said George Gianarikas, Managing Director at Canaccord Genuity.
"Rivian has done a good job of hiring people from traditional industrial operations but also from the technology sector," said Gianarikas, who was unaware of Gruner's reported move to Rivian.
Whatever role the sneaker-wearing Gruner fills at Rivian, he should expect a challenge.
Like other auto startups, Rivian is burning billions of dollars as it launches new models and invests in production and distribution capacity.
Rivian posted a $1.35 billion first-quarter net loss on revenue of $661 million. Its stock had shed 93 percent of its value this spring before recovering on strong factory output numbers this month.
The Amazon-backed automaker builds three vehicles in Normal, Ill., — an electric delivery van, a pickup and a crossover — and it is working on its next vehicle platform, R2, designed for less expensive models.
Meanwhile, Rivian is building a sprawling $5 billion assembly plant near Atlanta while ironing out manufacturing issues at its Illinois factory.
Gruner's hiring could signal that Rivian is preparing to move beyond startup mode, said Ivan Drury, Edmunds' insights director.
"Having a seasoned automotive veteran with intimate knowledge of selling high-end products will do wonders for the brand," Drury said.
But Gruner is going into his new gig with eyes wide open.
In a LinkedIn post announcing his exit from Porsche, the executive wrote: "How can you leave Porsche??? A great team, a great brand, great products! But sometimes there is the next mountain to climb."

 

[PappaBolt]

Seems like a smart move. As a Porsche owner I’m impressed not just with the engineering and brand affinity but by how they continue to find ways to empty my wallet.

I did note the Taycan saw YoY sales decline. Porsche’s only EV. For now…

 

[Zeusy Zeus]

All it takes to access is your browser's "reader view".

Didn’t work for me. Thanks for posting though!

 

[SASSquatch]

This is very puzzling - any move to Rivian would be a downgrade from where he was before as CEO, would it not?

I wonder if Rivian's board instigated this move so that RJ could have someone with experience to lean on. They have to be paying him a fortune.

 

[Ralph]

This is very puzzling - any move to Rivian would be a downgrade from where he was before as CEO, would it not?

I wonder if Rivian's board instigated this move so that RJ could have someone with experience to lean on. They have to be paying him a fortune.

Seems unlikely that there was that much pressure....

From a CNBC article around the time of the IPO:

"Rivian, which is based in Irvine, California, has two classes of stock. Scaringe owns just 1% of Class A shares, or those held by the broader investor base and available for trading. But he owns 100% of Class B shares, and each one has 10 times the amount of voting control as a Class A share.​

​

Add it all up, and Scaringe, who is also chairman of the board, has 9.5% voting control. His veto power is even greater. That’s because in order to make any major changes at the board level or in the company’s bylaws, the holders of at least 80% of Class B shares would have to go along with the move."​

 

[SASSquatch]

Seems unlikely that there was that much pressure....

From a CNBC article around the time of the IPO:

"Rivian, which is based in Irvine, California, has two classes of stock. Scaringe owns just 1% of Class A shares, or those held by the broader investor base and available for trading. But he owns 100% of Class B shares, and each one has 10 times the amount of voting control as a Class A share.​

​

Add it all up, and Scaringe, who is also chairman of the board, has 9.5% voting control. His veto power is even greater. That’s because in order to make any major changes at the board level or in the company’s bylaws, the holders of at least 80% of Class B shares would have to go along with the move."​

It's still an odd move. Why bring in the CEO - not someone in the lower ranks - of a competitor?

This guy has way more experience than RJ does. The experience absolutely has to factor in here. As much as I love RJ - he's made a ton of mistakes and the company is at a critical point in it's young life.

They have zero room for execution error with their R2 strategy. If they fail, Rivian will fail. They simply cannot make R1 at enough volume and enough profit margin to survive.

It was exactly the same with Tesla and Model S/X. They desperately needed the Model 3 to achieve profitability and survive.

 

[JWreck]

I agree. Unless Gruner is just looking to start retiring altogether, there’s more to this than they’re letting on.

I think we all HOPE they’re thinking ahead and planning to use his experience to help RJ, because we know it’s needed.

 

[DuoRivians]

This hire has likely nothing to do with replacing RJ, and more to do with bringing onboard a solid CMO—chief marketing officer.

 

[JWreck]

I agree. Unless Gruner is just looking to start retiring altogether, there’s more to this than they’re letting on.

I think we all HOPE they’re thinking ahead and planning to use his experience to help RJ, because we know it’s needed.

Also I hadn’t heard of any rumors surrounding anyone being unhappy with Gruners performance so I don’t think it’s a “hush hush” forced exit.

 

[dleepnw]

It's still an odd move. Why bring in the CEO - not someone in the lower ranks - of a competitor?

This guy has way more experience than RJ does. The experience absolutely has to factor in here. As much as I love RJ - he's made a ton of mistakes and the company is at a critical point in it's young life.

They have zero room for execution error with their R2 strategy. If they fail, Rivian will fail. They simply cannot make R1 at enough volume and enough profit margin to survive.

It was exactly the same with Tesla and Model S/X. They desperately needed the Model 3 to achieve profitability and survive.

it is a bit of an odd career move as he'll likely be taking a step down in terms of title. but maybe he didnt like being a CEO, he was only at it for a few years.

but i agree that the R2 will make or break this company. if this guy can help with that, then more power to him.

as a more far fetched theory, maybe Rivian is looking to bring a sports car into its portfolio - it is what RJ started out with before the R1 and EDV.

 

[SASSquatch]

it is a bit of an odd career move as he'll likely be taking a step down in terms of title. but maybe he didnt like being a CEO, he was only at it for a few years.

but i agree that the R2 will make or break this company. if this guy can help with that, then more power to him.

as a more far fetched theory, maybe Rivian is looking to bring a sports car into its portfolio - it is what RJ started out with before the R1 and EDV.

I'd believe that they want to keep the essence of a sports car in their R1 and especially R2 platform before I believe they would release yet another product line. They already have too much on their plate.

It will be interesting to hear more about what RJ plans to do with him.

 

[electruck]

Didn’t work for me. Thanks for posting though!

Sounds like you need a better browser.

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