Rivian's CFO is leaving the company. 1:23 PM PDT · August 27, 2026 Rivian's chief financial officer Claire McDonough is resigning her position at the end of October, the company announced in a regulatory filing Thursday. The company said McDonough is stepping down to "pursue a new opportunity and relocate to the East Coast to be closer to her family." McDonough has been hired as CFO at Massachusetts-based GE Vernova, according to the energy equipment manufacturer and her own post on LinkedIn. Rivian said her resignation is "not the result of any disagreement." The company is already searching for a replacement, and vice president of finance Derek Mulvey will serve as interim CFO once McDonough leaves her post. Her departure comes as Rivian takes on some of its biggest projects to date, including scaling up production and sales of its R2 SUV, which started shipping to customers this summer. McDonough was hired to the CFO spot in January 2021, replacing Ryan Green, at a critical and tumultuous time for Rivian. The EV maker, which was still a private company, had raised billions of dollars in its bid to bring three compelling electric vehicles - its flagship R1T truck and R1S SUV and a commercial delivery van - to market. Rivian was plagued with delays and added costs, which was compounded by supply chain constraints. It was also burning through capital. In her first year at Rivian, the company started production of its R1T truck and raised $12 billion in one of the biggest IPOs of the year. The company's stock, which debuted at $78, has since fallen to $16.80, as of Thursday's closing. What's driving Sweden's startup boom, from Lovable to Legora | Equity Podcast 0 seconds of 30 minutes, 0 Volume 0% McDonough was a key figure in the company's quest to improve its balance sheet, and specifically its cost of revenue. While she didn't have any direct experience working in automotive - her previous job was at JP Morgan and Fairway Market - McDonough was known for working closely with the design and engineering teams as well as founder and CEO RJ Scaringe to ensure future vehicles were modern and compelling without losing money on every sale, according to insiders who have spoken to TechCrunch in the past. Among her many responsibilities, McDonough led Rivian's corporate and business development as well as a variety of other aspects of the business, including vehicle maintenance and repairs, facilities, and its charging network. As CFO, she played a vital role in a technology joint venture with Volkswagen Group. Under that deal, which was finalized in November 2024, VW agreed to invest up to $5.8 billion into Rivian by 2027 in exchange for access to its electrical architecture and software known-how. "Together, we launched the R1T, R1S, and our commercial van, drove technology innovation and partnerships, built our go-to-market operations, and positioned the company for global scale and profitability with the launch of R2," McDonough wrote in a post on LinkedIn. "Being part of taking Rivian from an ambitious vision to a category-defining enterprise has been the highlight of my career." When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn't affect our editorial independence. Sean O'Kane Sr. Reporter, Transportation Sean O'Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane. You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal. Kirsten Korosec Transportation Editor Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch's Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, "The Autonocast." She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive. You can contact or verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at kkorosec.07 on Signal. October 13 - 15 San Francisco Don't miss out. The startup community will gather to answer a pivotal question: How do you build sustainably in the AI era?

Rivian's Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough will step down on 30 October after nearly six years with the electric vehicle maker. She is leaving to pursue a new opportunity and relocate to the East Coast to be closer to family. McDonough joined Rivian in January 2021 and led the company through its $13.7 billion initial public offering in November 2021, one of the largest IPOs in US history. The offering secured capital for scaling manufacturing operations at Rivian's Normal, Illinois facility. Derek Mulvey, Vice President of Finance, will serve as Interim CFO whilst Rivian searches for a permanent successor. Mulvey joined Rivian in 2021 and previously worked as Vice President at J. P. Morgan.

Exclusive demos with partners and investors prove Rivian has a working autonomous driving system. Rivian appears to have made progress with its point-to-point autonomous driving system, as hinted by investors who were offered exclusive demo rides Published: 27 Aug 2026, 16:23 UTC - By: Photo: Balaji Krishnamurthy, Jennifer Reid Rivian has ambitious plans regarding autonomous driving, even though it started from scratch just a year ago. While most people think that Rivian is no match for Tesla or Waymo, recent reports indicate that the EV startup might be more advanced than most people think. Uber CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy, who was offered a demo drive last week, confirmed Rivian Autonomy+ progress. For many, Rivian is a distant second to Tesla as far as software-defined vehicles and autonomous driving are concerned. However, the EV startup might be more advanced than most people think, and, in some regards, has already taught Tesla precious lessons. The most visible today is Rivian Assistant, which prompted Tesla to follow with Grok voice commands that are only now rolling out with the 2026 Summer Update. To much anyone's surprise, Rivian Autonomy & AI Day in December 2025 revealed the ambitious plans to crack vehicle autonomy. Rivian started small, with a Level-2 driver assistant that can barely keep the cars centered in the lane. For a while, even this limited system was only available on pre-mapped roads. However, with the launch of Universal Hands-Free on the Gen 2 R1S and R1T, Rivian made a decisive step toward AI-powered autonomy. At the Autonomy & AI Day, Rivian showcased its first dedicated autonomous driving chip, the RAP001. This is expected to debut with the Gen 2 R2 vehicles, which will also gain a Lidar sensor, probably early next year. Rivian also provided autonomous demo rides at the event, but everyone agreed that the system was still a work in progress. Fast forward to today, Rivian appears to be in a much stronger position, and recent reports indicate that the EV startup may close the gap with Tesla much faster than anyone imagined. The most recent comes from Uber CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy, who was offered an autonomous driving demo drive last week. Krishnamurthy praised Rivian's progress after riding from Sunnyvale to Cupertino and back with zero issues. "Today, I traded in my car for a Launch Edition R2. Super excited about the progress here!" wrote Krishnamurthy on Twitter. If you don't remember, Uber partnered with Rivian and expects to operate up to 50,000 R2 robotaxis by 2030. The deal is contingent on Rivian's ability to offer fully autonomous vehicles by then, so you see why Krishnamurthy wanted a demo ride in an R2. Uber CFO is not the only one who got to test Rivian's autonomous driving system. Rivian also offered an Autonomy+ class to Chase experts, including demo rides in autonomous vehicles. This proves that Rivian's Autonomy+ stack is working, probably better than anyone thinks. However, Rivian prefers to keep it under the radar and not rush with a public release. Many would want Rivian to open a beta program, similar to what Tesla offered with FSD Beta. Heck, a lot would volunteer to test Autonomy+ for Rivian. However, the carmaker is not changing its plans. In a roadmap published earlier this month, Rivian promised that a limited rollout of Point-to-Point assisted driving begins later this year, with wide customer rollout targeted for 2027. Liked the article? Follow Autoevolution to see more articles from autoevolution in your Google feeds.