The electric automaker Rivian is reorganizing some of its leadership team as a new chief operations officer joins the company next week.
Frank Klein joins Rivian as COO on June 1; his hiring was announced in March. Klein was most recently president at Austria-based automotive contract manufacturer Magna Steyr and previously spent 27 years at Daimler AG.
After the reorganization, Klein will oversee production, manufacturing engineering, and supply chain. Leaving the company is Charly Mwangi, executive vice president of manufacturing engineering. Unchanged in the reshuffling is Tim Fallon, who remains vice president of manufacturing, overseeing day-to-day production operations at Rivian’s plant in Normal.
Rivian issued this statement about the reorganization:
“Charly Mwangi has made the decision that it’s time for him to move on from Rivian. Charly joined at a key moment in Spring 2020, and he's been an important part of bringing our manufacturing capabilities online. We wish him and his family all the best as he joins the Rivian alumni community.
In addition to Charly's departure, yesterday we announced several organizational changes to align Rivian for continued growth. This includes the restructuring and alignment of our operations team, led by our new Chief Operations Officer, Frank Klein, who will be joining Rivian on June 1. Mr. Klein will oversee production, manufacturing engineering and supply chain. As we ramp production towards our 2022 target of 25,000 vehicles, we are confident these changes will strengthen our ability to more efficiently engage new and existing customers, extend our product offerings, and deepen our relationships with commercial partners. We are committed to maximizing the shift to electrified transportation while driving value for our customers and investors.”
Rivian is making its electric trucks, vans, and SUVs in Normal, where it already has over 5,000 employees. It will also soon begin production construction of a second, larger plant in Georgia.
