Waymo CEO resigns to become advisor

John Krafcik, CEO of Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, steps back and resigns. That is confirmed on the official blog of the company. Krafcik remains an advisor and transfers his daily tasks to the CTO and COO of the company.

The former CEO of Hyundai Motor America took over in 2015 at the helm of Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, which is working on technology for self-driving cars. “After five and a half exciting years, I have decided to leave my role as CEO at Waymo,” said John Krafcik of his departure on Waymo’s official blog. “I’m looking forward to being able to recharge, meet up with old friends and family and discover new parts of the world,” the man concludes.

Krafcik will remain as an advisor at Waymo and will hand over his duties to CTO Dmitri Dolgov and COO Tekedra Mawakana. According to Krafcik, they should, among other things, continue the development of Waymo Driver, Waymo’s self-driving car, as well as expand the various partnerships with other companies. Under Krafcik’s leadership, Waymo worked with Daimler, Fiat Chrysler, Volvo Car Group and holding company Jaguar Land Rover to develop technology for self-driving cars and trucks.