TuSimple Announces Leadership Changes

CEO Xiaodi Hou announced the addition of two key leadership positions and the departure of its CFO

TuSimple co-founder and CEO Xiaodi Hou announced the addition of two key leadership positions and the departure of its CFO as the company continues transitioning from testing to scaling and, ultimately, wide deployment of autonomous trucking technology across the U.S.

Dr. Ersin Yumer is being promoted to Executive Vice President of Operations. Dr. Yumer oversees the TuSimple Autonomous Freight Network (AFN) to support Driver Out operations and has deep experience in the industry, including previous roles at Aurora Innovation, Inc., Uber Technologies, Inc., Argo AI, and Adobe, as well as a PhD from Carnegie Mellon in the field of machine learning and computer vision.

Dr. Lei Wang is being promoted to Executive Vice President of Technology. Dr. Wang will continue to develop the advanced hardware, software, and algorithm technology required to install safe and reliable Driver Out capability. Dr. Wang has held technology leadership roles at WeRide.ai, Instagram and Facebook, and also has a PhD in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a focus on algorithm designs in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

In addition, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Dillon will leave the company to pursue other opportunities. Eric Tapia, TuSimple’s Global Controller and principal accounting officer, will temporarily take on the role of the company’s Chief Financial Officer while TuSimple carries out a search for a new CFO.

“I want to personally thank Pat Dillon for helping guide us through the IPO process and our first year as a public company. He has provided invaluable support and guidance to TuSimple and played a key role in TuSimple becoming a commercial leader in autonomous trucking and achieving several industry firsts,” said Xiaodi Hou, Co-Founder and CEO.

Additionally, TuSimple is also reconfirming it is on track to meet or out-perform previously announced 2022 Adjusted EBITDA guidance and will provide an update at the regularly scheduled quarterly update.

“With more than 7 million miles driven by TuSimple’s autonomous vehicles, we are laser focused on transitioning to the next stage: Driver Out Commercialization. Ersin Yumer is uniquely qualified to make sure that safety, efficiency and scalability are cornerstones of our entire organization. Additionally, Lei Wang is a highly experienced and capable technologist and organizational leader.” Dr. Hou continued, “As TuSimple continues growing and scales up to Driver Out Commercialization, I’m excited to execute our vision of a safer, more reliable and more efficient future.  We remain committed to the long-term financial goals of  the company, and today’s announcements will help get us there.”

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