Rocket Lab USA Hires Former Rivian Executive Frank Klein As COO: Retail’s Not Happy Yet

Rocket Lab USA Inc (RKLB) has appointed former Rivian Automotive (RIVN) executive Frank Klein as its new Chief Operations Officer, effective Sept. 16, 2024.

Klein will lead the firm’s efforts to scale manufacturing of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and spacecraft components to meet growing customer demand of more than a billion dollars of backlog orders.

Klein, who has over 30 years of international manufacturing experience and leadership in the automotive industry, served as COO at Rivian Automotive, where he helped to transform the firm from a low volume automotive start-up to a high volume premium electric vehicle manufacturer.

He has also served Daimler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group) for 27 years, leading various business divisions including Vehicle Research, Trucks, Cars, and Van manufacturing. Klein has also served as President of Magna Steyr AG, where he led operations across three continents.

Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck said Klein will bring vision and a strong wealth of knowledge in lean manufacturing and scaling to the firm at a pivotal time in its evolution as an end-to-end space company.

However, retail followers of the ticker on Stocktwits continued to remain ‘bearish” (44/100) despite the announcement. 

Shares of the firm have gained over 13% since the beginning of this year, with bulk of the gains being made since May. Notably, the firm had reported record revenue for the second quarter. Revenue rose 71% year-over-year (YoY) to $106.251 million while net loss narrowed from $41.63 million compared to $45.89 million in the same period a year ago.

For the third quarter, the firm expects revenue to land between $100 million and $105 million and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss of $31 million to $33 million. GAAP gross margins are expected between 25% and 27% while non-GAAP gross margins are estimated between 30% and 32%.

Rocket Lab USA had announced another high profile hiring recently. Last month, the firm announced that former Lockheed Martin (LMT) chief financial officer Kenneth Possenriede has been appointed to the firm’s board of directors.

Also See: Goldman Sachs Stock Falls Pre-Market After CEO David Solomon Flags $400M Q3 Revenue Hit

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