Former Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Kjell Gruner will serve as chief commercial officer and president of business growth for Rivian, effective Sept. 1, the electric vehicle startup said Friday.
Gruner will oversee sales, marketing, customer care, delivery service and fleet for Rivian. He will report to Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe.
In a statement, Scaringe said Gruner would help Rivian grow its domestic and international business, launch its new R2 vehicle platform and ensure “the continued success of our commercial vehicle line.”
In July, Gruner stepped down as head of Porsche’s North American business after overseeing record sales growth since 2020. His departure was one of several recent high-profile executive changes at the Volkswagen Group, which owns Audi and Porsche. Gernot Döllner replaced Markus Duesmann as Audi’s CEO on Sept. 1.
Under Gruner, PCNA had its best U.S. sales year in 2022, delivering 70,065 vehicles. The German automaker delivered 17,440 cars in North America during the first quarter of 2023, a 34% year-over-year increase and a record for Q1.
Before taking the helm at PCNA, Gruner was Porche’s chief marketing officer. He previously spent more than six years at Daimler, serving as director of strategy for Mercedes-Benz.
He also serves on the board of Livewire, an electric motorcycle company.
