According to the company's board of directors, Austin Russell, who became a billionaire after the publication of Lidar startup Luminar, appears to be the CEO.

Luminar's board announced Wednesday that the same day as the first quarter earnings report - it replaced Russell and appointed Paul Ricci to the position. Ricci is the former chairman and CEO of Nuance.

Russell resigned as president and CEO and served as chairman of the board, effective immediately, the press release noted. The board of directors said in a press release that the resignation followed the Luminar Board Audit Committee's Code of Business Conduct and Ethical Inquiry. Russell will remain on the board and “toward transition to incoming CEOs and use it”, the release said.

Board member Jun Hong also resigned, and the application also resigned, according to regulatory documents, which stated that his decision was not due to any disagreement with the company in any matter related to the company's operations, policies, policies or practices.

It is not clear whether Russell was forced to refuse or whether he was willing to resign. Russell was unable to comment. Hen could not comment. The Board did not provide further details of this ethics enquiry, but only "will not affect any financial performance of the company."

A further twist, the company's earnings report and slide presentation did not mention leadership changes. The first-quarter press release even included Russell's optimistic statement outlining the company's strategy to reduce costs using its new Halo products.

“In a macro uncertainty and adversity, we are shooting at all cylinders to increase production, reduce costs and capitalize on the future, as evidenced by our announcement today,” Russell said in the statement. “This begins our new operational plan for Luminar through a unified product platform, thus unlocking the focus and streamlining of the business and value across the organization.”

Meanwhile, the board’s press release tells another story.

“We are delighted to announce Paul as our next CEO,” Board member Matt Simoncini said in a statement. “His journey is self-evident. He is a visionary leader with rare technical insights and outstanding excellence. His commitment to innovation, the ability to expand the organization and the ideal person for his expected technical leadership makes him the ideal person for growth in the next chapter. We are confident in the leadership talents of the board, we are confident in the leaders, and we are excited about what is going to be in the future.”

Simoncini retired in 2018 as CEO of Lear and chairs the board’s audit committee, which also includes Jun Hong Heng, founder and chief investment officer of Crescent Cove Advisors, a technology investment firm, Dominick Schiano, founder of Evergreen Capital Partners, and Daniel Tempesta, Daniel Tempesta, who served as executive vice president and CFO of Nuance.

Luminar broke into the scene of self-driving cars in April 2017 after years of confidentiality. Russell, who was only 22 years old at the time, was attracted by people and became a success story in Silicon Valley. Luminar was founded by Russell in 2012, but it took his company to be known to the public for several years. He worked as a Thiel Fellow, working in Luminar Technology, offering young people $100,000 in two years to drop out of school and pursue their ideas.

In 2021, Luminar merged with special purpose acquisition company Gores Metropoulos Inc., with a market valuation after the transaction was US$3.4 billion. Luminar raised $250 million ahead of the SPAC announcement.

This article was originally published on May 14. Updated to include information about the resignation of board members.