Following its recent public relations crisis, General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise has undergone quite the transformation, with several leaders resigning from their positions and the establishment of new roles – like Chief Safety Officer. Now, Cruise has appointed Steve Kenner to this aforementioned position.
With nearly four decades of engineering and automotive safety under his belt, Kenner has worked with several notable companies, including Ford, Kodiak, Apple, Uber, Locomation and Aurora. In his new role with Cruise, Kenner will oversee the robotaxi company’s safety management systems and operations, and report to Cruise Co-President and Chief Administrative Officer Craig Glidden.
“As we look forward to Cruise’s next chapter, we know we must continually improve our overall safety performance and work to build trust with regulators, other government officials and our communities,” Glidden was quoted as stating. “Steve Kenner brings the perfect blend of experience in AV and automotive safety excellence to help deliver on these important priorities.”
It’s worth noting that Kenner boasts in-depth expertise on AV safety standards, culture and regulations through his previous leadership positions.
“Safety requires that every team within a company work together to put passengers and other road users first,” Cruise Safety Chief Steve Kenner stated. “That partnership must include regulators, and I look forward to earning their trust. At the end of the day we have the same goal as regulators: to make our roadways safer and establish public confidence in the AV industry. I have worked on safety critical technologies throughout my career, I believe in the safety potential of autonomous vehicles, and I want to safely and responsibly realize that potential.”
“On a personal note, I started my career as an engineer at GM, so it’s a full circle moment returning to work for a company so closely aligned with GM and its plans for the future,” Kenner continued.
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Comment
The concept itself is unsafe.