Rivian (RIVN) makes another key hire ahead of R2 launch Leave a comment

After hiring former Porsche and Apple executives, Rivian (RIVN) has made another key hire ahead of the launch of its new R2 electric models.

Just three weeks after announcing it was hiring Jonas Reinke, former Porshe and Apple exec, Rivian has made another key hire.

Rivian welcomed Jennifer Prenner as its new VP of Marketing and CMO, according to a LinkedIn post. Prenner joins the EV maker with over 20 years of business, marketing, and product leadership experience.

She previously served as VP of Global Marketing for Facebook’s parent company, Meta’s Reality Labs. Prenner led a large team of marketers and general managers across Meta’s Reality Labs AR and VR products, including the Metaverse.

Before that, Prenner was head of marketing, growth, and engagement for Amazon’s Fire TV business.

Prenner said she’s excited to help Rivian “achieve even more success by building out a high-performing marketing team.” She added, “I look forward to making the world more eco-friendly and adventurous, one amazing vehicle at a time.”

Rivian hires key executives ahead of R2 launch

Rivian’s new hire is the latest in a string of recent announcements to bring key personnel on board. In November, the EV maker hired former Mercedes-Benz exec Arnehelm Mittelback as its first plant manager at its new Georgia facility.

Mittelback joins Rivian with over 20 years of experience at Mercedes, serving as plant manager in South Africa and East London.

Less than two weeks later, Rivian brought on Carlo Materazzo, former VP of manufacturing for Stellantis North America. Rivian COO Frank Klein touted Materazzo’s experience as “second to none” in auto manufacturing.

Last month, the EV maker tapped former Porsche and Apple exec Jonas Reinke. He joined Rivian as VP of product management. Reinke was previously Apple’s head of product, mobility, and auto services for four years.

Before that, Reinke spent over a decade with Porsche, most recently serving as the product and innovation manager at Porsche Digital in Silicon Valley.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said Reinke’s experience will help “tackle the next wave of product launches,” including the upcoming R2.

Scaringe said R2 will be Rivian’s version of the Tesla Model 3. Prices are expected to start around $40K to $50K, or nearly half of the current R1T and R1S.

Rivian will reveal its next-gen R2 next month at their Laguna Showroom on March 7th. It will be built at Rivian’s new $5B manufacturing plant in GA. Once up and running, Rivian expects to produce 200,000 EVs annually.