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Kodiak Robotics has promoted Lauren Harper to the newly created role of chief of staff, the company said.
Harper previously served in a senior strategy and business operations role at the self-driving truck technology company. She was named a leading woman of 2024 in transport from the Women In Trucking Association’s in-house magazine, Redefining the Road.
“Lauren was instrumental in commercializing Kodiak’s self-driving truck technology,” said Kodiak Founder and CEO Don Burnette. “Her extensive experience and wealth of industry knowledge is an invaluable asset as we work to deliver this technology at scale. We look forward to leveraging Lauren’s talents in her new role as Chief of Staff.”
Harper started the new job on April 8 as the tech company invites more input from the trucking industry and aims to complete its first without a driver runs in the second half of the year, amid a push to beat rivals in profitability.
“Over the past two years, Lauren has demonstrated natural leadership as she helped guide Kodiak’s operations team through a period of tremendous growth,” said Burnette.
Harper grew up in a JB Hunt Transport Services family. Her father, Craig Harper, was the long-time COO of JB Hunt, then the freight giant’s first head of sustainability, before retiring last year. JB Hunt’s next chief executive, Shelley Simpson, is a long-standing role model.
Prior to joining Kodiak, Harper worked for nearly two years as a corporate strategy and development partner at stand-alone technology company TuSimple, according to her LinkedIn.