Redwood Materials has brought on Deepak Ahuja as its incoming CFO, the company confirmed Monday. Ahuja served as Tesla's finance chief across two separate stints, making him one of the more recognizable names in clean-energy finance. His arrival reunites him with Redwood founder and CEO JB Straubel, who spent over a decade as Tesla's chief technology officer before leaving to start the battery-recycling venture.
Despite the high-profile hire, Ahuja was quick to cool any speculation about a public offering. 'It's too early' to talk IPO, he said, signaling that Redwood's near-term focus remains on building out its operations rather than navigating public markets. The company has been expanding its footprint in battery recycling and energy storage, processing materials from electric vehicles and consumer electronics to feed back into the battery supply chain.
The appointment adds serious financial firepower to a company that has already attracted significant investment and government attention. Redwood has positioned itself as a critical piece of the domestic battery supply chain, a priority that has only grown sharper as EV adoption climbs. Ahuja's experience steering Tesla through its most turbulent and transformative years gives him a credible track record for the job. Whether an IPO eventually follows is a question for another day.
