The cruise has was named its first ‘chief security officer’ as part of the company’s bid to rehabilitate itself after an incident – and ensuing controversy – last year that left a pedestrian pinned down and then swept away by one of its robots.
Steve Kenner, an autonomous vehicle industry veteran who has held top safety roles at Kodiak, Locomation, Aurora and Uber’s now-defunct self-driving division, is taking on the newly created role. Kenner will report directly to Cruise president and chief executive officer Craig Glidden. He will “oversee Cruise’s safety management systems and operations” and work “in direct collaboration with Cruise’s Board of Directors,” the company said in a statement Monday.
Louise Zhang, Cruise’s vice president of security and systems and one of the highest-ranking security-related officials prior to Kenner’s arrival, will remain in her position.
Kenner’s appointment comes just three weeks after the release of a 195-page report by the Quinn Emanuel law firm looking into the October crash, where a Cruise robotaxi hit and dragged a pedestrian who had previously been hit by a car, as well as the company. answer. That report ultimately determined that Cruise’s leadership had a “myopic” focus on the media’s response to the crash and that it left out important facts when discussing the event with the public and regulators.
The crash, and Cruz’s handling of it, are now the subject of several government investigations. The Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the California Public Utilities Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are all investigating the company’s actions.
Kenner will begin his new role at the company at a time when the entire robotaxi fleet is grounded. Cruise recently cut its workforce by 24% and laid off some high-level employees. Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt and co-founder Dan Kan stepped down last year.
General Motors, which owns Cruise, has said it will investment reduction to the autonomous vehicle company by $1 billion this year. The automaker installed Glidden as chief executive in November as it began investigating why the company handled the October crash so poorly.
