Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) today announced that Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough has decided to step down from her role to pursue a new opportunity and relocate to the East Coast to be closer to her family.

McDonough will remain in her role as CFO over the next two months to ensure a seamless and thorough transition. During this period, she will work closely with CEO RJ Scaringe and the executive leadership team to transition key strategic initiatives. Her final day with Rivian will be October 30, 2026.

Rivian has a comprehensive executive search process underway, evaluating both internal and external candidates, to identify the company’s next Chief Financial Officer. To maintain operational continuity, Derek Mulvey, Vice President of Finance, is expected to be appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective upon McDonough's departure. Mulvey joined Rivian in 2021 and has worked closely with Scaringe and McDonough on the company’s financial planning, strategic partnerships, capital allocation and investor relations. He has been instrumental in Rivian’s strategy and execution and will enable a seamless transition.  Prior to his tenure at Rivian, Mulvey was Vice President at J. P. Morgan.  

Since joining Rivian in January 2021, McDonough played a central role in constructing Rivian’s financial foundation and navigating its growth as a public company.  Under her leadership, Rivian successfully executed its historic $13.7 billion initial public offering in November 2021, one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history, securing the capital required to scale initial manufacturing operations at its Normal, Illinois facility.  Throughout her tenure, McDonough and her team have built robust capital management frameworks across major growth cycles, driven cost-reduction initiatives essential to achieving long-term gross margin targets, and helped structure key strategic partnerships. 

Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe said:

"Claire joined Rivian almost six years ago, and she’s had a meaningful impact on our business and our teams during a transformative period of growth. From guiding us through our IPO to building many of our financial operating frameworks, her strategic approach has helped strengthen our overall execution. Beyond her work on our capital roadmap, Claire has been a trusted leader and partner across the organization. While she will be missed, I’m thrilled that Derek is taking on the interim CFO role.  Derek has worked incredibly closely with me, Claire and our leadership team for several years and will enable a seamless transition."

Rivian’s Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough said:

"Serving as Rivian’s CFO alongside RJ and this exceptional team has been the highlight of my career. I am tremendously proud of everything we have accomplished together—from building and scaling the business with the launch of R1 and our commercial van to establishing the financial and operational foundation that will propel the company through the ramp of R2 and beyond. 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."

Rivian’s strong executive leadership bench will work alongside Mulvey to ensure a smooth transition and maintain execution across key strategic initiatives.