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20 May 2025
Company founder Austin Russell departs the automotive lidar pioneer; private equity advisor Paul Ricci appointed as replacement.
Austin Russell, the entrepreneur who co-founded the automotive lidar system developer Luminar Technologies while still a teenager, has resigned as CEO and president of the company.
Announced on the same day that the Florida-headquartered firm announced its latest quarterly results, the resignation comes after a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” inquiry by Luminar’s audit committee.
The company added that although Russell has also resigned as the chairperson of Luminar’s board of directors, he would retain a position on the board and “be available to the incoming CEO on transition and technology matters”.
According to a separate US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Jun Hong Heng, a Luminar director who heads up investor Crescent Cove Advisors, has also tendered his resignation as a result of the same inquiry.
Having founded Luminar back in 2012, Russell worked closely with initial company CTO Jason Eichenholz and secured financial support from Peter Thiel, among others, before Luminar raised $600 million via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listing on the Nasdaq in 2020.
While Eichenholz has since left the firm to co-found hollow-core fiber startup Relativity Networks, Russell went on to spearhead Luminar's efforts to scale up, and adoption of the firm's 1550 nm lidar system in the "EX90" series production vehicle from key partner Volvo.
CEO salary tbd
Luminar's new CEO will be Paul Ricci, a 68-year-old advisor to venture capital and private equity clients who is due to start with the company “on or about May 21”.
Another SEC filing dated May 14 detailing Ricci’s appointment stated that his salary and other compensation were yet to be determined, suggesting a hasty recruitment process.
CFO Tom Fennimore has taken charge in the meantime, and in the absence of Russell he hosted Luminar’s latest investor call to discuss business developments in the opening quarter of the year.
Commenting on Russell’s departure he added little detail but said: “This decision was not made lightly. The [board of directors] recognizes the weight of this action and the impact it may have.
“We understand that this news may come as a surprise. We want to assure you that the board of directors and the leadership team is fully committed to ensuring a smooth and successful transition.”
Switching to the firm’s latest figures, Fennimore highlighted efforts to consolidate Luminar’s product offering around its new “Halo” platform, as part of a wider effort to streamline operations and reduce costs.
Cost cuts take effect
Luminar posted an operating loss of $72.3 million for the three months ending March 31, as sales revenues of $18.9 million dropped from $21 million in the same period of 2024.
However, that latest operating loss figure is much-reduced from $126 million a year ago, after dramatic cost-cuts in research and development, sales, and administrative functions.
“We'll be narrowing our development efforts around our core technologies such as the transceiver, which includes the laser, the receiver, and the ASIC, the embedded software, and other core components,” Fennimore told investors.
“We will also be outsourcing more of the commodity components of our lidar. This will allow us to further streamline the company and reduce cost and get our products to the market faster.”
The CFO also reported that new US import tariffs had cost the firm around $1 million in the opening quarter of the year, with efforts ongoing to mitigate their impact in the remainder of 2025. Historically the company has shipped lidar sensors from Mexico to the US.
And while Luminar still burned through around $44 million in cash during the quarter, Fennimore pointed out that this was the lowest quarterly cash burn figure since 2022.
He added that sales revenues in the June quarter will likely decline a little sequentially, with full-year sales still expected to be 10-20 per cent higher than the 2024 figure of just over $75 million, despite ongoing weakness across the automotive sector and wider geopolitical turmoil.
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