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Former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario is resigning from her position on Rivian\u2019s board of directors, according to a Friday afternoon stock exchange filing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rivian wrote in the filing that Marcario\u2019s last day will be on January 1, and that she is leaving \u201cto focus on other commitments.\u201d Rivian\u2019s board will shrink from eight members to seven upon her resignation. <\/p>\n Marcario\u2019s departure and the downsizing of Rivian\u2019s board comes on the eve of an important year for the company. Rivian plans to start selling its more affordable R2 SUV in the first half of 2026. The upcoming R2 is supposed to reach a much wider market than the company\u2019s current R1 SUV and pickup truck and the EV maker has plans to make hundreds of thousands of them per year, including at a new factory in Georgia. Rivian is also looking to expand its automated driving features next year, which it detailed at last week\u2019s inaugural Autonomy & AI Day event<\/a>.<\/p>\n Marcario has served on Rivian\u2019s board since January 2021, a role she took after 12 years as an executive (and eventual CEO) of Patagonia. Before her appointment, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe often described<\/a> his aim for the company to become \u201cthe Patagonia of EVs.\u201d <\/p>\n Rivian said Friday that Marcario will continue her role as chair of the board of trustees overseeing the Rivian Foundation. She serves on that board alongside Scaringe, Rivian\u2019s chief sustainability officer Anisa Kamadoli Costa, and conservationist Ed M. Norton.<\/p>\n Formed just before the company\u2019s blockbuster 2021 IPO, the Rivian Foundation was initially handed 1% of the company\u2019s equity in order to make \u201cthe natural world\u201d a \u201cstakeholder in [Rivian\u2019s] success.\u201d The foundation remained quiet for the first few years as Rivian\u2019s stock price fell from its post-IPO highs, and announced its first $10 million in grants in 2024<\/a>. <\/p>\n