TuSimple Holdings, the developer of self-driving trucks, took steps Friday to fill corporate governance gaps, naming two additional independent directors and making its interim CFO permanent.
The company also indicates that layoffs could begin as soon as next week.
The governance changes are required to ensure TuSimple, based in San Diego, regains Nasdaq compliance and retains its listing. Last December, the company was the first to remove the driver from a Class 8 cab.
“When I returned to lead TuSimple, I committed to righting the ship and putting us on a path to long-term stability and success,” TuSimple President and CEO Cheng Lu said in a news release.
In March, co-founder Xiaodi Lu deposed Lu and took over as CEO and Chairman. After the previous board fired Hou on October 30, Lu returned as CEO. Hou and co-founder Mo Chen used their super-voting power ten days later to fire the board’s four independent directors.
Chen reclaimed the position of executive chairman, which he had relinquished in June. Hou later transferred his voting rights to Chen, who now controls 59% of the voting rights in the company.
TuSimple is filling board positions.
TuSimple filled a vacancy on its board of directors by appointing three independent directors this week.
Michael Mosier will be the Government Security Director, overseeing TuSimple’s compliance with a National Security Agreement, which is part of the company’s limited federal oversight following a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Mosier has held national security positions at the Treasury and Justice Departments and the White House National Security Council.
Wendy Hayes will preside over the Audit Committee. She previously worked as an Inspections Leader for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which Congress created to oversee public company audits and protect investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission is in charge of the PCAOB.
On Monday, 12 December, unrelated to Cheng Lu, James Lu was appointed as an independent director. He is a former Amazon Global Marketing executive and the founder of Grindr, the world’s largest LGBTQ social networking app.
Eric Tapia was also named chief financial officer by the company. He had been acting in that capacity since July. Tapia was previously vice president, controller, and chief accounting officer at Grainger, Inc., a Fortune 200 company worth $13 billion.
“With Eric’s appointment as permanent CFO, three new independent board members in the last week, and the reconstitution of the Audit Committee and other board committees, we’re moving forward with our plan to restore accountability and transparency to this company,” Cheng Lu said.
