by: Justin Trobaugh
Posted: / Updated:
Canoo’s Multi-Purpose Delivery Vehicle
JUSTIN, Texas (KNWA/KFTA) — An electric vehicle startup that recently announced the relocation of its headquarters to Northwest Arkansas has seen the exit of two of its co-founders as well as its chief technology officer.
According to a news release from Canoo, two of its co-founders as well as CTO Peter Savagian will be leaving the company. Savagian will leave by the end of 2021.
Three key executives will be taking on expanded responsibilities.
The release says President Josette Sheeran will oversee sales, marketing, and communications on an interim basis. Chief Design Officer Richard Kim’s duties will be expanded to include creative content and merchandising on an interim basis. Senior Vice President Finance and Chief Accounting Officer Ramesh Murthy will now act as interim CFO.
Interim CFO Renato Giger will be an advisor to the CFO and the Audit Committee of the Board, according to the release.
The release says Sohel Merchant has been promoted to chief technology officer, automotive. Merchant joined the company in 2017 as one of its founders.
Merchant has been in the automotive industry for around 20 years, holding executive positions at startups and companies like Tesla and Ford.
Dean Harlow joined the company as executive vice president, operations, with an initial focus on manufacturing, purchasing and program and portfolio management.
Ram Balasubramanian joined the company as chief information officer. Balasubramanian has held senior technology management positions for more than 20 years at companies like Saleforce.com, Motoroloa Solutions and PepsiCo.
In November, Canoo announced that it had selected Bentonville as its headquarters and will establish an industrialization facility there.
The facility will feature advanced industrialization and a low-volume production facility for small package delivery vehicles in the state, according to a separate release from Canoo.