This morning, Tesla announced the appointment of Jack Hartung, President and former Chief Financial Officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill, to its Board of Directors. Jack will join the board on June 1st of this year and will also serve on Tesla’s Audit Committee.
Hartung brings over two decades of financial leadership experience to Tesla’s board. During his tenure at Chipotle, he held several leadership positions, including President and Chief Strategy Officer, as well as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. Under his financial stewardship, Chipotle expanded immensely, now operating over 3,700 restaurants worldwide.
In addition to his new role at Tesla, Hartung serves on the Boards of Portillo’s Inc., The Honest Company, Inc., and ZocDoc, Inc.
Interestingly, Hartung has opted to forgo any cash or equity compensation for his role on Tesla’s board.
Tesla’s board now comprises nine members, including Chair Robyn Denholm, CEO Elon Musk, his brother Kimbal Musk, and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia.
Areas of Interest
Hartung joins Tesla as it works through regulatory challenges in Europe around FSD, although it seems like Europe will finally see FSD introduced this September, at least on the highway.
Given Jack’s experience in the food sector, it’ll also be interesting to see whether he offers input on Tesla’s upcoming drive-in diner and whether the company expands the concept beyond a one-off Supercharger. We recently shared exclusive photos of the interior of the project, which appears to be in the final stages of construction.
Hartung’s experience in scaling operations may also be crucial during Tesla’s expansion of the Robotaxi network when it begins expanding outside of Austin, Texas.
