This photo, provided by Motional, a Hyundai Motor Group-backed U.S. joint venture, shows Laura Major, the company’s new president and CEO. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Group said Friday that its U.S.-based autonomous driving joint venture, Motional, has officially appointed robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) expert Laura Major as its president and chief executive officer (CEO).
Major, who had served as the company’s chief technology officer (CTO) since its founding in 2020, was recently confirmed by the board, according to the South Korean automotive group. She had been serving as interim CEO since September.
Motional said Major’s appointment comes as the company accelerates AI development ahead of the planned commercial launch of its autonomous driving services next year.
As CTO, Major led the development of the Ioniq 5 robotaxi, one of the world’s first fully driverless vehicles to receive certification under U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
Before joining Motional, Major held senior positions at Draper Laboratory, a U.S. nonprofit research and development (R&D) organization, and Aria Insight, a drone technology company, where she worked on AI and autonomy solutions for spaceflight and national security.
“In partnership with Hyundai, we’re bringing embodied AI to transportation and introducing significant societal benefits,” Major said. “Leveraging our deep expertise in building fully driverless systems and our agility in realizing the latest AI breakthroughs, we are strongly positioned to unlock a future where safe autonomous vehicles are a practical part of daily life.”
(Yonhap)
