Kodiak Robotics Names Yellow’s Former YRC Freight Vice President as Head of Freight Operations and Network

Chet Richardson will leverage his 30 years of trucking industry experience to build out Kodiak’s freight operations as the company prepares to scale operations

Kodiak Robotics, Inc., a leading self-driving trucking company, announced that Robert “Chet” Richardson joined the company as Head of Freight Operations and Network, effective immediately. In his role, Richardson is responsible for building a network of partners and supporting commercial customers as they deploy the Kodiak Driver at scale.

“Chet will work closely with customers to ensure a deep understanding of their businesses, so we can operate together seamlessly at scale,” said Don Burnette, Founder and CEO, Kodiak Robotics. “At the same time, he will concentrate on expanding Kodiak’s operations coast-to-coast, which is vital as we work towards commercialization. Chet’s 30 years of leadership in the trucking industry underscores our focus on hiring top talent with specialized expertise.”

Richardson will be instrumental in locating, designing, and managing future Kodiak autonomous trucking facilities. He will also be responsible for building out the services and infrastructure that will enable Kodiak to support its partners’ freight operations. Kodiak is able to rapidly grow its autonomous network thanks to the company’s proprietary lightweight mapping technology.

“Kodiak’s team of industry experts is ushering in the future of logistics with innovative self-driving technology that will improve road safety, increase serviceability, reduce fuel costs and more,” said Richardson. “Over my 30 year career, I’ve seen multiple transformations in the global logistics industry. I believe the next great advancement will be self-driving trucks.”

Richardson brings invaluable skills and insights as the former Vice President at YRC Freight, Yellow Transportation’s less than truckload (LTL) carrier. During his time with the company, Richardson led a team of more than 200 management personnel and 3,900 drivers, while simultaneously managing 34 relay offices, central dispatch operations and more than 7,500 trucks and 25,000 trailers. He was instrumental in leading the development and implementation of YRC Freight’s high-efficiency distribution center network in 2017. In addition, he championed YRC Freight’s investments in new technologies that enabled superior network planning and execution.

Prior to YRC Freight, Richardson spent 26 years at Con-way Freight, which was acquired by XPO Logistics. While at Con-way Freight, he most recently held the position of Vice President of Linehaul where he was responsible for large account integration, truckload carrier relations, and real estate management, with a $1.3 billion annual budget and more than 8,000 dispatches per day. During this time, he was responsible for reimagining Con-way Freight’s network with innovative deployment processes, technologies, and people which enabled the company to grow to over 290 service centers. His responsibilities also included the oversight of over $500 million in purchased transportation with over 50 carriers.

Before joining Kodiak, Richardson held the position of President at AFS Logistics, where he was responsible for major technology and policy decisions, improving the quality of customer and partner experiences, identifying business and financial goals, streamlining business operations, and ultimately maximizing the company’s ability to perform. Much of Chet’s efforts focused on efficient and effective operations between carriers and customers. This included leading technology initiatives that would enable AFS to meet customers’ demands despite supply chain disruptions.

Today, Kodiak is already hauling freight for a range of industry partners from some of the nation’s largest fleets, to Fortune 100 companies, to digital freight brokers. The company is currently executing routes between Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Oklahoma City. The company intends to deploy driverless operations in the next couple of years first in Texas and then throughout the Southern half of the United States.

Richardson joins other industry experts at Kodiak, including Head of Law Enforcement Policy and Roadway Safety Brett Fabbri whose appointment was announced in January. Fabbri brings more than 20 years of experience at California Highway Patrol, and will be instrumental in overseeing Kodiak’s law enforcement protocols and the development of safe roadway policies across all 50 states.

Kodiak is entering a period of extreme growth which has been catalyzed by an oversubscribed, $125 million Series B funding round. In November 2021, the company announced it will use the Series B funds over the next 12 months to add at least an additional 85 staff members, expand their autonomous service capabilities from coast-to-coast, and add a minimum of 15 new trucks to their fleet for a total of at least 25 autonomous vehicles.

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