Today, I have the privilege of officially announcing that Embark has hired Sam Abidi as Head of Business Development and Clint Schroer as Head of Partnerships. Together, Sam and Clint will provide crucial leadership and trucking industry expertise as we focus on the foundational business and technical relationships needed to bring autonomous trucks to market.
Sam Abidi, Head of Business Development
Sam brings deep experience developing go-to-market strategies for emerging technologies, including autonomous trucking. At Deloitte Consulting, Sam led the development of Deloitte’s autonomous trucking program and focused specifically on the economics of autonomous trucking. During this time, he worked with Fortune 500 companies from across the freight ecosystem to define pilot programs, partnerships, and commercialization strategies that would accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucks. Prior to Deloitte, Sam led the go-to-market strategy for an early-stage computer vision company and worked on the global strategy team at General Motors.
Sam is working with carrier and shipper partners to identify the strategic impact of Embark’s driverless truck technology on existing logistics networks. This work is helping partners prioritize early markets with favorable economics, develop nationwide rollout strategies, and plan for operational changes needed to support scaling. In parallel, Sam is standing up pilot programs to haul cargo with new partners, generating real-world learnings for all parties. By developing these insights, Sam will continue to identify and build Embark’s relationships with the carriers and shippers best positioned to benefit from autonomous trucking.
“After working with a number of logistics clients at Deloitte to model the impact of autonomous trucking, I realized just how financially and operationally transformative this tech would be” noted Sam. “Based on the numbers and conversations I was having, I knew I wanted to be scaling this tech from inside a leading autonomous truck developer, and I am excited to be doing exactly that with Embark.”
Clint Schroer, Head of Partnerships
Clint comes to Embark with broad knowledge of how to build relationships and deliver products to move the trucking industry forward. He spent nearly a decade at Cummins, using extensive knowledge of the interaction between customer product requirements and internal product developments to manage high-performing sales teams and develop broad-reaching marketing campaigns. Clint also brings to Embark hands-on technology product management experience, having led cross-functional product development teams during his time at digital products and services giant Cognizant.
At Embark, Clint will deepen collaboration with leaders across truck OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and other supply chain stakeholders necessary for the efficient and safe integration of Embark’s Automated Driving System into trucks. Clint is well positioned to understand the needs of Embark’s integration partners and develop productive and mutually beneficial relationships that will lay the groundwork to bring safe, commercially viable autonomous trucking technology to market.
“After learning about Embark’s technology and drawing from my previous experience working with trucking fleets, I instantly saw this role as an opportunity to help solve some of the biggest challenges in the trucking industry,” said Clint. “Having an opportunity to improve truck utilization, safety, and cost of operation is extremely exciting. I look forward to working with truck manufacturers and key component suppliers as Embark continues to commercialize our Level 4 autonomous driving technology,”
Moving the Trucking Industry Forward
At Embark, we are building a future where roads are safer, drivers work closer to their homes and families, and goods move faster and are cheaper. Sam and Clint will spearhead Embark’s outreach to the strategic partners necessary to realize that vision by bringing the first commercially-viable driverless trucks to public roads. Building strong linkages between Embark and leading carriers, shippers, OEMs, and suppliers will ensure Embark’s technology meets the trucking industry’s most pressing needs, unlocks new opportunities for our partners, and improves safety for all road users.
Interested in partnering with Embark to deliver on the future of trucking? Reach out to hello@embarktrucks.com or connect with Sam and Clint on LinkedIn.
Embark Welcomes Two Business Development Leaders was originally published in Embark Trucks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.