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Walmart’s private fleet is absorbing a USA Truck CEO turned advocate for self-driving truck technology.
James Reed, a trucking executive who joined Kodiak Robotics as COO last year, will serve as the retail giant’s vice president of transportation development, he said. in a LinkedIn post last week.
Reed will continue to be involved with Kodiak as a strategic advisor and will retain his seat on the autonomous truck technology company’s board of directors. Starting work with Walmart earlier this month, he also plans to start and chair a “Kodiak Industry Advisory Council.”
“The board will bring trucking leaders together to ensure Kodiak’s solution solves its customers’ biggest problems,” Reed wrote in his post.
“I will continue to provide strategic and operational guidance derived from my experience in the trucking industry and evangelize Kodiak’s transformative and life-saving technology to the broader transportation and logistics industry,” he added. “I am excited to remain closely involved in the development of Kodiak.”
During Reed’s tenure as COO, Kodiak has touted progress toward its goals of reaching profitability before competitors and debuting without a driver truck runs in Texas in the second half of the year.
When Reed joined Kodiak nearly a year ago, founder and CEO Don Burnette described him as a “unicorn and a perfect fit,” noting his previous financial and executive leadership positions at Intel, T-Mobile and JPMorgan Chase.
Walmart leaders hold Reed in just as high regard, though LinkedIn post by Vice President of Transportation Fernando Cortes is any clue.
“A proven leader in the transportation industry, James brings with him a wealth of expertise, innovative ideas and a passion for excellence,” Cortes wrote.