General Motors’ newly launched BrightDrop subsidiary has appointed four new executives to its leadership team, including a new chief technology officer and chief product officer.
Anthony Armenta has been confirmed as BrightDrop’s first Chief Technology Officer, joining the company after a stint as the vice president of Software Engineering for Serve Robotics at Postmates/Uber.
Additionally, Rachad Youssef has been appointed as the company’s first chief product officer and will be tasked with leading the design, development and management of BrightDrop’s ecosystem of all-electric products. The company says Youssef ” brings nearly 25 years of product development experience in the technology industry,” including most recently as the vice president of Software Product Management for Chinese electric automaker NIO. The first BrightDrop vehicle to arrive will be the EV600 utility van, which is set to enter production later this year.
BrightDrop also confirmed Shaluinn Fullove as its chief people officer and Steve Hornyak as its chief revenue officer this week. Fullove was previously the global head of people for Autonomous Technology and Rideshare Platforms at Lyft, while Hornyak most recently served as the chief commercial officer at e-commerce company Fabric.
“We’re thrilled to have Anthony, Rachad, Shaluinn and Steve join our growing, visionary team,” said BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz. “Their robust backgrounds – spanning robotics, autonomy and machine learning – will enable us to accelerate our vision of delivering better cities while helping decarbonize the last mile of delivery.”
BrightDrop hopes to revolutionize the last-mile delivery industry with a series of new eco-friendly products marketed at logistics companies like FedEx. In addition to the aforementioned EV600, BrightDrop is also developing a new electric delivery pallet called the EP1, which features in-wheel hub motors and is therefore easier to push than a traditional delivery pallet. BrightDrop’s mobile asset management software also allows fleet managers to view information on and manage their EV600 vans and EP1 pallets in real-time.
“Our roster of highly skilled talent, with the addition of Anthony, Rachad, Shaluinn and Steve, is a nod to the magnitude of opportunities when tech and automotive talent unite around one common goal of creating a more sustainable future,” Katz added.
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Comments
I am looking forward to see the development of this Bright Drop business, this has so much potential for new growth business with both larger and smaller vehicles.
Not too often do I feel the need to make a second comment, but WOW, GM picked up some top talent for BrightDrop, I am all the more excited for the future of this division.