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Who is Deepak Ahuja? Early Background: - Born in India - Completed a ceramics degree from IIT - Studied materials engineering at Northwestern University - Studied business at Carnegie Mellon University Carrer: - Started his job at Ford as an A&D Manager - Moved to Auto Alliance as CFO in 2000 - Joined Ford South Africa as CFO in 2003 - Later headed Product Development at Ford Entry into Tesla: - Tesla was financially struggling and on the verge of bankruptcy - Deepak Ahuja joined Tesla as CFO in 2008 - Tesla had $15 million in revenue at the time - He Played a crucial role in securing a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy - Lauched Model S and purchase the Fremont factory from Toyota and GM - In 2010, he helped Tesla go public, raising $226 million - Helped Tesla secure a partnership with Panasonic for battery supply - Ensured Tesla had capital to scale the Model S and produce the Model X - Retired in 2015 when Tesla's revenue was $4 billion Return to Tesla: - In 2017, Tesla was struggling to mass-produce the Model 3 - The company was also burning cash rapidly, and investors feared another financial crisis - Deepak Ahuja returned as CFO in 2017 - Managed cash flow and helped Tesla cut costs - This helped Tesla turn profitable for the first time in Q3 2018 - Retired once again in 2019 with Tesla’s revenue was over $22 billion and 530,000 cars on the road - After his retirement announcement, Tesla’s stock dropped by 6%, and the company made losses in the next two quarters Current Role: - He is Now working as the Business Head and CFO at Zipline (the American drone startup) While Tesla wouldn't be Alive without Elon Musk and his investments at Tesla, Deepak's role at Tesla is undeniable. As a result, he was awarded as CFO of the Year by San Francisco Business Times (2014), Silicon Valley Business Journal (2010), and CFO Dive (2019) What do you think?