Rivian Automotive, Inc. announced that John Krafcik has been named to its board of directors. Krafcik also serves as a member of the company?s audit committee. Krafcik is a seasoned automotive executive with over 35 years of experience in the industry, including his most recent role as CEO of Waymo, an Alphabet company which commercially launched autonomous driving technology in several US markets.

Krafcik most recently served as CEO of Waymo, an Alphabet company, from 2015 to 2021, and served as a consultant from 2021 to 2022. Prior to that, he was President of TrueCar, a two-sided automotive marketplace. He also served on the Board of Directors at TrueCar.

Before that, Krafcik served as President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, where he led the transformation of the brand. Before Hyundai, he served in various chief engineer and engineering management roles at Ford Motor Company. He began his automotive career as a quality and manufacturing engineer at NUMMI, the GM-Toyota joint venture.

As a researcher in MIT?s International Motor Vehicle Program, Krafcik introduced the term ?lean production.? In addition, Krafcik currently serves on the Supervisory Boards of Daimler Truck AG and Daimler Truck Holding AG. Krafcik received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a M.S. in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.