Ms McDonough will join US energy equipment group GE Vernova in November and take up the CFO role on January 1, 2027.  

Rivian vice-president of finance Derek Mulvey is expected to be appointed interim CFO when Ms McDonough departs. The company said an extensive executive search was under way and that it was evaluating both internal and external candidates.  

Claire McDonough

Ms McDonough joined Rivian in January 2021 from investment bank JP Morgan, where she was a managing director and co-head of its Disruptive Commerce Group.  

She steered Rivian through its $US13.7 billion ($A19.1 billion) initial public offering in November 2021, managed multi-billion-dollar deals including the joint venture with Volkswagen Group and has served on the board of US parts retailer AutoZone since 2025. 

Rivian founder and chief executive 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.”  

GE Vernova chief executive Scott Strazik said Ms McDonough brought “a sophisticated blend of capital markets expertise and hands-on operational leadership” to the company, which was spun out of General Electric. 

In a post on LinkedIn, Ms McDonough said: “Being part of taking Rivian from an ambitious vision to a category-defining enterprise has been the highlight of my career.”  

Her exit comes as Rivian ramps up output of the smaller R2 SUV, which went on sale in June.  

The company delivered 12,194 vehicles in the second quarter and in July lifted its full-year delivery guidance to between 65,000 and 70,000 units, up from 62,000 to 67,000. 

Rivian does not sell vehicles in Australia. It has confirmed the R2 will be built in right-hand drive but has given no timing for a local launch. 

By Haitham Razagui