Last April, LiDAR company Luminar and its founder Austin Russell burst onto the autonomous vehicle startup scene after operating for years in secrecy. Since then, Luminar has been making waves with its innovative technology and strategic partnerships. Now, the company has made two high-profile hires that signal its grander ambitions in the race to develop and deploy autonomous vehicles.
New Hires Signal Expansion Plans
Luminar announced Thursday it has hired Fitbit executive Bill Zerella as its chief financial officer (CFO) and Tami Rosen as its chief people officer. Both have years of experience in their respective arenas, and their expertise will be crucial for Luminar’s expansion plans.
Bill Zerella: Scaling Up Revenue and Operations
Zerella was CFO of Fitbit for four years and has held the same position in various other companies, including wireless communications company Vocera and Force10 Networks. He is known for helping burgeoning startups scale up revenue and operations to hit high-volume hardware and software products.
During his stint at Fitbit, Zerella led the largest consumer electronics IPO in history. His expertise will be invaluable for Luminar as it navigates its own path towards growth and expansion.
Tami Rosen: Navigating Talent Acquisition
Rosen has a long and fruitful HR career, including 16 years at Goldman Sachs and a role as senior director of human resources at Apple. She was most recently vice president of people at Quora. With her extensive experience in talent acquisition and management, Rosen will play a key role in Luminar’s plans to scale.
The explosion of companies working on autonomous vehicle technology has created a highly competitive job market, with firms vying for a limited pool of talent. Rosen acknowledged the challenge and emphasized the importance of building a strong culture that attracts and motivates top talent.
"It really takes looking at how you build a strong culture, one that’s inclusive and motivates the workforce and that can be key for us to hit these ambitious goals," she said in an interview with TechCrunch.
LiDAR Technology: A Critical Component of Autonomous Vehicles
LiDAR (light detection and ranging radar) is a critical component of autonomous vehicles, measuring distance using laser light to generate a highly accurate 3D map of the world around the car. LiDAR is considered by many automakers and tech companies an essential piece of technology for safely rolling out self-driving cars.
Russell has argued that companies have been wrongly focused on price and should instead work on improving LiDAR’s performance. Luminar has built its LiDAR from scratch, resulting in a simpler design with better performance.
The company is now working on reducing the cost through innovative engineering and economies of scale. Zerella and Rosen will play key roles in this effort, helping to drive growth and expansion while maintaining a strong focus on innovation.
Execution and Scale: Luminar’s Next Chapter
Russell has built out the tech, grown the company to about 400 employees over three locations, made strategic acquisitions, and landed partnerships with Toyota Research Institute and Volvo. With Zerella and Rosen on board, Luminar is now poised for its next chapter of growth.
"Last year it was all about demonstrating how the technology was coming together, adopting some of these initial commercial partners, building out the production facility," Russell said in an interview ahead of the announcement. "Now it all comes down to execution and scale."
What’s Next for Luminar?
As Luminar continues to expand its operations and partnerships, one thing is clear: the company has grand ambitions in the autonomous vehicle space. With Zerella and Rosen on board, Luminar is well-positioned to drive growth, innovation, and progress towards a safer and more efficient transportation future.
