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FOUNDER/CEO
RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE INC.
RJ SCARINGE
FOUNDER / CEO
RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE INC
WHY: Founder and chief executive of Irvine-based electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive Inc. (NYSE: RIVN), Orange County’s largest automaker based on local headcount. Led the EV maker to annual sales of almost $5B, which has more than doubled since 2022, and the production of 49,476 vehicles in 2024. Market cap of nearly $20B as of last week. Second EV model, the R2, is on track to start production in 2026.
IN THE NEWS: Rivian is building a 1.2M-square-foot supplier park, an investment worth almost $120M, to help reduce costs at the existing manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. Leased in April another 95K square feet of industrial space at Jamboree Business Park, across the street from its Irvine headquarters. Also investing $5B for new manufacturing plant in Georgia.
NOTABLE: Achieved gross profit for the first time, $170M, in 2024 fourth quarter. Closed joint venture with Volkswagen Group, winning a $5.8B investment from the automaker. EV maker was also approved for a loan of up to $6.6B from the Department of Energy in early 2025.
IN HIS WORDS: “Rivian’s enterprise readiness for R2 stretches beyond just technology, design and manufacturing for the product. It spans the entire organization as we scale our systems, processes and infrastructure for rapid growth.”