Electric-vehicle manufacturer Rivian’s stock soared 29% Wednesday, the first day of trading after its initial public offering, pegging its market value at $86 billion. In this podcast, originally published on February 21, 2020, LEI President Josh Howell and Team Leader Matt Savas interview Rivian’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe and Rivian’s former COO Jim Morgan.
In 2019, Rivian made waves in the auto industry by announcing two “electric adventure vehicles” — the R1T, an electric pickup truck, and the R1S, an electric SUV. At the time, the company expected to launch both vehicles in the United States later that year and globally in 2021. Rivian was also developing a fleet of electric delivery vans to fulfill a 100,000-unit order placed by Amazon. In the last twelve months before publication, the electric vehicle company raised $3 billion.
Listen in to hear how R.J. and Jim are bringing this vision to life.
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I always find it interesting to read and listen to company founders and CEOs and COOs when they talk about how they have adopted lean thinking to keep their companies continuously learning and improving because it is a company culture. This philosophy is, of course, believed and bolstered each day by the company’s leaders but it would be interesting if there was a way to also hear from the line workers and 2nd or 3rd level managers too to hear or read about about how they experience and promote that philosophy. I believe this top to bottom lean working environment that promotes continuous improvement is what reduces variables and makes great companies great.