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Thomas
von der Ohe

Co-Founder, CEO

WHAT DRIVES ME

You come across an opportunity to positively impact societies around the globe maybe once in your lifetime. An opportunity to truly make a difference. Our unique approach to autonomous driving gives us this chance: redefining how people move in a better way. Building and shipping a product with this great team is what drives me day and night.

BACKGROUND

Launched Zoox’ first self-driving vehicle on public streets as leading Technical Program Manager in Silicon Valley, launched Amazon’s first Echo as leading Technical Program Manager on Device Software, Founded two (funded) mobility companies. M. Sc. Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University.

Fabrizio
Scelsi

Co-Founder, CTO

WHAT DRIVES ME

Building products together with an amazing team based on cutting-edge technology to serve a greater purpose and solve problems – for the people, for our planet.

BACKGROUND

Manager of an engineering team in Silicon Valley to build autonomous shuttles, built teams and various mobility products: electric race cars, e-motorcycles, light electric vehicles, electric passenger vehicles, including one of the most successful electric delivery vehicles in Germany. RWTH Aachen, Imperial College London.

Bogdan
Djukic

Co-founder, VP Engineering & Remote Driving Experience

WHAT DRIVES ME

Vay is aiming to launch the first vehicle without a safety driver on public roads in Europe. This involves exciting engineering challenges, many of which have never been worked on before, ranging from autonomous vehicle technology, cybersecurity, backend, machine learning and safety-critical SW. Coming up with engineering solutions to these topics is something that I’m super excited to work on at Vay.

BACKGROUND

Team Lead at Microsoft, Senior Software Engineer at Skype. M. Sc. in Computer Science from Belgrade University.

Mariona
Bosch

VP Programs and Engineering Operations

WHAT DRIVES ME

Working closely with people from different cultures and professional backgrounds (hardware, software, operations, etc.) gives me the chance to learn new ways of approaching projects, structuring teams, and setting up processes every day. The results of this incredible teamwork are hugely rewarding, and visible in each step of our product.

BACKGROUND

Part of the management circle at AUDI AG, responsible for the implementation of prototypes at early development stages of new products (innovation vehicles, concept and pre-series vehicles, show cars, design models, testing single parts, PoCs, 3D-printing)

Justin
Spratt

CBO - Business & Corporate Development

WHAT DRIVES ME

What drives me is to work on goals that have a big impact on society. Additionally, I wanted to work with the smartest and most innovative people in the tech world. That’s better at Vay than any other company I’ve spoken to recently.

BACKGROUND

Responsible for global strategic partnerships at Uber, where he focused on deals with automotive OEMs, vehicle fleet operators, vehicle battery technology companies and electrification infrastructure providers. Was CEO and chief growth officer at Quirk. Began his professional life at Morgan Stanley as a fixed income trader after studying economics and finance. Built the first startup incubator in Africa in 2002 and has been mentoring founders of technology startups for over ten years. He is an angel investor in software technology and holds board positions in some of these companies.

Irene
Molins

Director of People

WHAT DRIVES ME

Driven by a passion for fostering vibrant organizational cultures, I am a seasoned leader specializing in People and Culture. Throughout my career journey, I’ve championed initiatives to empower teams, from crafting recruitment strategies aligned with core values to implementing data-driven processes for optimal People Operations.

BACKGROUND

My background spans roles where I’ve spearheaded the establishment of People departments from scratch and led teams through significant growth. I thrive on continuous learning, embracing remote/hybrid cultures and cutting-edge HR technologies. I leadled innovative solutions to optimise processes and initiatives that rewarded InfoJobs a “Best Place to Work”.
Outside of work, my passions for mountains and my dog, reflect my eagerness to explore the wild and love for 4-legs companions.

David
Gossow

Senior Principal Software Engineer

WHAT DRIVES ME

After having worked in autonomous robotics research for a long time in the Silicon Valley, I am thrilled to be working at a company that is finally bringing this technology into people’s everyday lives.

BACKGROUND

Tech Lead at Google Tango in Mountain View, Research Engineer at Willow Garage, yoga instructor since 2018.

Johanna
Loomis

Lead Industrial Designer

WHAT DRIVES ME

What drives me at Vay is the enthusiasm and passion for a vision that is embedded in the company culture, and at the same time the strict discipline in its implementation.

BACKGROUND

Industrial Product Design Lead at TEAMS DESIGN GmbH for over six years, started as a Trainee in Shanghai City. Worked as Industrial and Product Designer at LOTHAR BOHM ASSOCIATES LIMITED, Lutz Herrmann Design, Indeed Innovation and Werksdesign.

Vladimir
Bilonenko

Director of Software Engineering

WHAT DRIVES ME

Helping engineers to do their best and most important work. Elegance in software. Bringing ideas from books to real life and from one domain to another. Going from A to B fast.

BACKGROUND

Software Generalist. Maps and Mobility Geek (Lon, Lat not Lat, Lon). High Load at Yandex, Geo Analytics and Last Mile at HERE Maps, Mobility Platform at Daimler. Conway’s Law Enthusiast.

ALINA
PRESTI

Remote Driver

WHAT DRIVES ME

A car enthusiast, driven by cars, driving and technology.

BACKGROUND

Nursery school teacher. Driver at Skoda’s start-up Caredriver.

Claire
Eagan

Director of Legal

WHAT DRIVES ME

I’m passionate about leveraging technology to democratize transportation and revolutionize the mobility landscape.

BACKGROUND

Senior Counsel Product & Strategy at Uber handling catastrophic loss claims and litigation, 13 years of experience in product & safety advising and risk mitigation, J.D. University of Illinois at Chicago.

Introducing Cole, Vay’s first Remote Truck Driver

Vay recently announced a strategic partnership with Kodiak Robotics, a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, to enable Assisted Autonomy technology. This allows a human to remotely control a truck in scenarios that benefit from human involvement. 

Read about Cole, our first Remote Truck Driver, and the job that’s already revolutionizing the trucking industry.

Can you tell us about your experience as a Truck Driver?

I have about three years of experience in over-the-road driving, mostly focusing on pharmaceutical loads and specialty items. After my time on the road, I spent the better part of a year working in Las Vegas, delivering metal and coils to local businesses.

What are the main differences between being a Remote Truck Driver and a traditional truck driver?

You’re sitting in an air-conditioned office, and you’re not subject to elements like the bouncy suspension or the smell of diesel in the vehicle. In a traditional trucking job, you are alone for about 99% of the time. Vay allows you to grow into a team you can rely on and collaborate with. You definitely feel more socially engaged here than at any trucking company.

Why do you feel remote driving is valuable to the wider trucking industry?

Remote driving in trucking supercharges efficiency. There’s a significant amount of “dead heading” in trucking, which is driving without a load to get to the next pickup. At Vay, a truck driver can board the next truck hundreds of miles away remotely rather than driving over to make that load happen. That cuts down on fuel and driver costs, as well as time. The implications of our technology for the trucking and driverless industry are huge, and I wanted to be a part of that.

What are the implications of Vay’s remote driving technology for real truck-driving use cases? 

We are getting truck drivers out of the driver’s seat and allowing them not only the flexibility of getting behind the wheel through remote driving technology, but also guaranteeing they will be home at night afterward.

What kind of training or simulation do Remote Truck Drivers go through?

Vay’s Remote Drivers train hundreds of kilometers with someone in the car – a Safety Driver – before they are driving a car fully remotely. There is additional training when it comes to operating on the truck team. I went through an additional 1000 KM of remote driving, which includes further “Private Grounds” operations involving obstacle courses with cones, as well as driving around the greater Las Vegas area in our fleet of cars. This is combined with monitoring trucks driving autonomously through our designated areas in other states as well.

How do shifts work, and how flexible are they?

At Vay, we work 8-hour blocks five days per week. When it comes to trucking, this is extremely nice for home life. I get to spend every night in my own bed, and I am not worried about maximizing a DOT (Department of Transportation) clock. It allows me to work a normal office job while still utilizing my skills as a Remote Truck Driving trainer and Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).

This is different from being a traditional truck driver, where schedules and shifts are usually longer – averaging 11-hour shifts and 70 hours per week.

What is the most challenging part of the job?

Explaining what I do to my friends and former coworkers has been the most challenging part.  I needed to explain every aspect in detail, but once they see how it works and what we do for people, it just clicks. 

What is the most rewarding part of the job?I love showcasing our technology to truck drivers who have decades of experience driving on the road and showing them something they’ve never seen before. We are a new sector of the market, but our applications to the trucking industry are undeniable.

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