According to The Financial Times and Bloomberg, Denis Sverdlov, the CEO and founder of the beleaguered electric vehicle (EV) startup Arrival, has resigned from his position overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm. Peter Cuneo, who was the CEO of Marvel Entertainment before it was bought by Disney, will take over as chair of Arrival in place of Sverdlov, who will not be leaving the firm entirely. Instead, Sverdlov will trade roles with Cuneo.
Arrival had ambitious intentions for the EV market and was working on an electric van, bus, and vehicle at the same time. However, the corporation was forced to reduce its employees in the middle of 2022 as a result of its diminishing financial reserves. It also stated that it was discontinuing its bus and vehicle projects entirely in order to concentrate on developing its vans for the US market. As a primary motivation for this move, the company cited the EV tax incentives that are available in the US. Cuneo will serve as the company’s CEO while it searches for investors to stave off the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.
Arrival most likely opted to make the switch in the hopes that Cuneo might make use of his knowledge. After all, Cuneo is recognised for organising spectacular business turnarounds, and during his time as CEO of Marvel, he was instrumental in the company’s successful exit from bankruptcy. Whatever Cuneo chooses to do, he will be required to carry it out on his own since he lacks the support of a senior executive. Avinash Rugoobur, who formerly held the duties of company president and chief strategy officer, has stepped down from those positions but will continue to serve on the board.
In 2018, the electric vehicle (EV) company formed a partnership with UPS to develop a new generation of electric delivery vans. In 2020, UPS placed an order for 10,000 cars to be rolled out over the course of the next several years. In September, Arrival said that, despite problems with manufacturing, it had completed constructing a “production verification vehicle” and that it expects to be ready to deliver 20 vans to clients by the end of the year.
