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 autonomous trucking tech company. She was named a 2024 Top Woman to Watch in Transportation by the Women In Trucking Association’s in-house magazine, Redefining the Road.
“Lauren has played an instrumental role in the commercialization of Kodiak’s autonomous trucking technology,” Kodiak Founder and CEO Don Burnette said in a statement. “Her extensive experience and wealth of industry knowledge is an invaluable asset as we work towards delivering this technology at scale. We look forward to leveraging Lauren’s talents in her new role as Chief of Staff.”
Harper started in the new job April 8 as the tech firm invites more trucking industry input and aims to complete its first driverless runs in the second half of the year, amid a push to beat its competitors to profitability.
“Over the last two years, Lauren has demonstrated natural leadership as she helped guide Kodiak’s operations team through a period of tremendous growth,” Burnette said.
Harper grew up in a J.B. Hunt Transport Services family. Her father, Craig Harper, was J.B. Hunt’s longtime COO, then the freight giant’s first chief sustainability officer, before retiring last year. J.B. Hunt’s next CEO, Shelley Simpson, is a longtime role model.
Before joining Kodiak, Harper worked for almost two years as a corporate strategy and developmental associate at autonomous tech firm TuSimple, according to her LinkedIn.
