Lordstown CEO and CFO Step Down After Special Report

Lordstown Motors has announced that its CEO and CFO have both stepped down from the company after a new special report from a board committee found inaccurate disclosures about its truck preorders.

In addition to CEO Steve Burns and CFO Julio Rodriguez resigning from the company, Burns has also stepped down from the company’s board. The resignations come only one week after the company warned it was running out of cash and close to going out of business.

However, in a press release published on Monday, independent director David Hamamoto said that Lordstown has achieved “significant milestones” in its development of full-size electric pickup trucks and plans to start production in late September. The electric vehicle manufacturer based in Lordstown, Ohio, has previously said it plans to build its trucks at a former General Motors assembly plant in Ohio.

The company went on to announce that its made significant changes to its executive team, citing the transition from the company’s R&D and early production phase to its commercial phase of business as the reason for a revamped leadership team.

As a result, Angela Strand, Lead Independent Director, has been appointed to Executive Chairwoman and will oversee the company’s transition until a permanent CEO is identified. Becky Roof, an accountant and consultant that previously served as interim CFO at Eastman’s Kodak and Hudson Bay will serve as the interim CFO.

Rich Schmidt will continue to oversee all day-to-day operations as President, a role he was promoted to in November after working as Chief Production Officer. Jane Ritson-Parsons, formerly Lordstown’s Chief Brand Officer has been appointed to COO. She most recently worked at Hasbro as their Group Executive of Global Marketing.

Carter Driscoll, formerly Head of Investor Relations has been promoted to VP of Corporate Development, Capital Markets and Investor Relations. Additionally, Tom Canepa, General Counsel, Shane Brown, Chief Production Officer, Darren Post, Vice President of Engineering, John Vo, Vice President of Propulsion, will all remain in their current roles.

All changes are effective immediately, and Lordstown has reached out to an executive search firm to identify a new permanent CEO and CFO.

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