Carl Jenkins

Carl Jenkins was the Senior Vice President of Autonomous Vehicle Platforms at Cruise Automation, a subsidiary of General Motors focused on developing self-driving car technology.12 He held this position for six years before recently announcing his resignation on February 15, 2024.14

Career at Cruise

Jenkins joined Cruise in February 2018 as Senior Vice President of Hardware & Vehicle Programs.3 During his tenure, he oversaw hardware development in partnership with General Motors and played a key role in building up Cruise's hardware team from 20 to approximately 750 employees.12

Professional Background

Prior to joining Cruise, Jenkins had an extensive career in the automotive and technology sectors:

• Hyperloop One: Senior Vice President of Hardware (May 2017 - January 2018)
• Karma Automotive LLC: Senior Vice President - Vehicle Line Executive (June 2015 - April 2017)
• Google[x]: Senior Manager & Vehicle Chief Engineer for Self-Driving Car project (2013 - May 2015)
• Ricardo: Director of Vehicle Engineering and other leadership roles (November 1999 - April 2013)
• Magna Steyr: Director of Vehicle Engineering (July 2004 - April 2010)

Departure from Cruise

Jenkins' resignation comes at a challenging time for Cruise, following a series of leadership changes and operational setbacks:

• The company suspended all autonomous vehicle operations after an October 2023 incident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco.2
• CEO Kyle Vogt and co-founder Dan Kan resigned in November 2023.2
• Nine key team leaders were terminated in December 2023.1

Jenkins' departure marks the latest in a series of high-profile exits from the company as it faces ongoing scrutiny and works to address safety concerns and regulatory issues.12