Rivian loses its first CTO, a veteran Apple exec who helped create the iPhone
0Reported today on The Verge
For the full article visit: https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/20/21143374/rivian-cto-mike-bell-left-apple-intel
Reported today in The Verge.
Rivian loses its first CTO, a veteran Apple exec who helped create the iPhone
Buzzy EV startup Rivian has lost its first chief technology officer just nine months after he started the job. Mike Bell, a longtime Apple executive who helped start the iPhone project, left Rivian this month, the company confirmed to The Verge.
Rivian hired Bell in June 2019, as The Verge first reported last year. He previously spent five years as an executive at Intel, where he ran the company's mobile division, and three years at Palm, where he helped bring the Pre into the world. He also worked at Motorola before spending 15-plus years at Apple.
It's unclear why Bell left Rivian after just nine months; he did not respond to a request for comment. He was just featured in the first episode of a documentary-style "behind the scenes" series on Rivian's YouTube channel published on February 6th. In it, Bell explains that he was "very lucky to lead the groups that created Wi-Fi, the iMac," and that he helped bring the original iPhone into the world. He describes, with a smile, that Rivian is a "BHAG" company, which stands for "big hairy audacious goal."
Bell is one of Rivian's most high-profile hires to date, though the startup has now grown to over 1,700 employees worldwide, as the company confirmed last month. Amy Mast, a spokesperson for Rivian, said the company "appreciate[s] his contribution here and wish[es] him all the best," but declined to offer any more information about his departure.
Since he took the post last year, Bell helped bring a small stream of former co-workers to Rivian from Intel and Silver Spring Networks, a smart grid company that he ran from 2015 to 2018, according to a person familiar with the matter and public information from LinkedIn.