Zach Kirkhorn, 34, will become the chief financial officer (CFO) of Tesla Inc, the electric-car maker after a few months more of grooming by his predecessor, Deepak Ahuja.
Zach Kirkhorn landed his first job out of school with McKinsey & Co and joined Tesla Inc while still in his mid-20s. He is now about to take over a finance department that has been through months of tumult.
Tesla’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk revealed the shake-up in the closing minutes of Teslas earnings called Wednesday, and the surprise announcement sent the shares tumbling as much as 5.9 percent.
Tesla saw a wave of executive departures in 2018 that hit the finance team particularly hard. Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton resigned in September after less than a month. Justin McAnear, Vice President of worldwide finance, left in October.
Ahuja, 56, retired in 2015 but returned in 2017 when his successor, Jason Wheeler, announced he would quit after just 15 months. He plans to go back into retirement after a few months and continue to serve as a senior adviser, probably for several years, according to Musk.
In a tweet, the billionaire thanked the retiring executive and wished him happiness.
Incredibly Talented
Musk, earlier, joked that he didn’t think the few years Kirkhorn spent at Harvard Business School were necessary (he earned his MBA in 2013). While he will rank among the youngest CFOs at major US companies, he has a few years on David Knopf, who took over the role for Kraft Heinz Co at 29 in 2017.
Zach has made a huge contribution to Tesla over the years, Musk said, adding that his new CFO was a very well-known quantity to the whole team and has the respect of the whole team.
Tesla shares ended 3.8 per cent higher on Wednesday at $308.77, gaining the most in three weeks. While the company came up short of analysts estimates for fourth-quarter profit, it posted $910 million in free cash flow. Musk also assured investors Tesla will be able to comfortably pay off a $920 million convertible bond maturing in March.
“I feel were starting 2019 with a very strong financial foundation. We have enough cash to continue launching new programs and developing new technologies, and were able to service upcoming debt obligations with our forecasted cash flows,” Kirkhorn said.