Reader Profile: Autonomous Trucking “Oddball” Reveals What’s Ahead for Driverless Trucks
Pivoting from entertainment to the trucking industry, Kodiak Robotics Chief of Staff Lauren Harper considers herself an oddball in autonomous trucking. While her path to her current position might be unexpected, she’s clear-sighted about her goals for driverless vehicles. She believes autonomous trucks can save lives on the road and U.S. soldiers on the ground.
LAUREN HARPER is chief of staff at Kodiak Robotics, which builds solutions that can power autonomous movement for the long-haul trucking market.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Support and add value to strategic and operational initiatives, such as developing autonomous solutions for the U.S. Army.
EXPERIENCE: Senior strategist and business operations, Kodiak; corporate strategy and development associate, TuSimple; finance product summer associate, AgriDigital; vice president, production, Picture Movers Anonymous; chief executive officer and founder, LouLou Productions; business valuation associate, Deloitte.
EDUCATION: MBA, Yale School of Management; B.B.A, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University.
I’m a jack of all trades. I earned an undergraduate finance degree, specializing in alternative assets. Almost all my classmates are in investment banking or private equity. I’m the oddball in autonomous trucking, but I love it.
After working in finance, I moved to the entertainment space. I worked primarily as a line producer, building the budgets and managing cash flow for music videos, TV shows, movies, and other projects.
While this work was exciting—I applaud people who work in entertainment and love a good TV show as much as the next person—I felt I wasn’t impacting people’s day-to-day lives in a tangible way.
When I pivoted from entertainment to the trucking industry, I knew I’d need to immerse myself in a different world. I got into the Yale School of Management, where there are people from all over the world, with all sorts of backgrounds and perspectives. You can learn from everyone.
Then I looked for a position in transportation. I grew up in a trucking family and witnessed how important safety is. I believe autonomous trucking has the potential to save lives on the road and save our soldiers on the ground. It’s fulfilling to feel I’m part of something that can make such a positive impact.
I worked in corporate strategy at TuSimple, an autonomous driving technology developer. I fell in love with it from day one. Partly it was my wonderful manager, but it’s also an exciting industry. I was impacting day-to-day lives. You could see our customers’ trucks on the road. It was tangible.
When you pivot to a new industry, you have to work hard and prove you belong. I said ‘yes’ to everything. I managed our insurance and worked with the CFO to manage investor relations, even though those weren’t technically my job. I’m proud of my willingness to learn, get my hands dirty, and make a spot for myself in this industry.
Then I was blessed to move to Kodiak and work with the leadership team. It has been a fantastic couple of years. As chief of staff, I can provide value and lead initiatives where I’m needed, as Kodiak strives to deploy driverless trucks in Texas in the second half of this year.
I’m also working closely on our program with the U.S. Army. We’re developing autonomous solutions for one of their platforms. The Department of Defense has their own language and way of working. Once again, I had to say, ‘Okay, this isn’t something that I’m familiar with, but I’ve just got to get my hands dirty and learn how to execute on a program.’
Unless I have a conflict, I go to every meeting I’m invited to. It’s a way to learn about other parts of the company. Plus, it’s hard to volunteer for something if you don’t know what’s going on. Success means showing up and learning so you’re ready to take on a project when it comes up.
I think about how exciting this industry is and the potential it has to positively transform ground transportation efficiency and reliability. I’m proud and excited to be a part of Kodiak.
Lauren Harper Answers the Big Questions
1. What’s the best leadership advice you’ve received?
That we are all created equal. We have our strengths and weaknesses, but we’re all people, and should be treated the same. It shouldn’t be hard to do this, but it’s something good to remember.
2. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
My superpower, which I’d use only for good, would be controlling emotions. I’d love to be able to help someone feel the confidence they need or help them grieve less.
3. When you wake up in the morning, what are the first things you check?
At Kodiak, we use Slack as an informal means of communication. So I check direct messages and see if there is anything immediate I need to address. Then I stay off my phone, have a cup of coffee, and usually read. I’m a nerd and read about 70 books every year.