Former USA Truck Inc. CEO James Reed has a new job, four months after leaving the Van Buren transportation company after it was acquired by DB Schenker.
The autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics of Mountain View, California, named Reed its chief operating officer Thursday. Reed brings a mix of trucking and technology experience to Kodiak Robotics. Before joining USA Truck in July 2016, Reed served in executive positions with Intel and T-Mobile among others.
Reed’s joining Kodiak Robotics isn’t too shocking to anyone following his LinkedIn page in recent weeks. He has been reposting Kodiak Robotic links and news over the span, and he called his decision to join the company a “no-brainer.”
“Been sitting on this for a bit, but I am so pleased to announce that I have joined Kodiak Robotics,” Reed posted. “Kodiak approached me with a chance to play a role in making the roads safer for everyone, impacting the future, and making a positive difference in [the] lives of everyone I care about … this was a no-brainer.”
Kodiak Robotics was founded in 2018 and is led by CEO Don Burnette. Burnette called Reed a “unicorn” in a news release because executives with his varied experience are rare.
“Leaders with James’ background don’t find themselves on the market very often,” Burnette said.
