Rivian just picked up Sarah O’Brien, a new communications executive from Meta to lead its own coms department. She’ll take over the role of Chief Communications Officer. Her history includes time at Tesla and Apple and her future looks like one that’s focused on shining a light on Rivian’s latest innovations.
O’Brien began working with Tesla in 2016 after more than eight years at Apple. During her time at the tech company, she had a hand in communications surrounding the Apple Watch, the iPhone, iPad, App Store, and the iTunes Music Festival. When she moved over to Tesla her focus included products like the Model 3, Solar Roof, and the Semi Truck according to a statement from Rivian.
She moved on from Tesla in mid-2018 and has been at Meta ever since. At Rivian, she’ll oversee product, consumer, internal, and corporate communications. She’ll report directly to CEO RJ Scaringe and released a statement about her vision of Rivian and its future in correlation with the announcement.
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“Rivian is still in the early chapters of its incredible story, and I’m thrilled to be able to play a role in telling the next chapters,” said O’Brien. “Rivian is delivering on an ambitious mission, not only to create electric vehicles that redefine the ownership experience but to provide its customers with real ways to get carbon out of transportation and drive real impact. By helping to tell Rivian’s stories, we hope to inspire people from across the world to explore responsibly and preserve our natural world,” she continued.
While O’Brien might not have a direct hand in production, design, or planning, her influence shouldn’t be overlooked. The way she presents Rivian to customers, investors, employees, and other companies will be vital to the brand’s success. As of this writing, the company’s stock is down more than 80 percent from where it was at the start of 2022.
It’s also about to take on the next big step of growth in terms of launching two new products while maintaining production, interest, and sales of its R1T and R1S.
