Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said CEO John Krafcik is stepping down after serving five and a half years at the helm.
Waymo said the chief executive duties will be divided between two current company executives — Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov.
Mawakana used to be Waymo’s chief operating officer, and Dolgov was the company’s chief technology officer before he was promoted.
In a blog post declaring the move, Krafcik, 59, did not mention a reason for why he was stepping down right now other than to say he was looking for something new.
Waymo said it was Krafcik’s own decision and that he prepares to remain an adviser to the company.
Krafcik, a longtime auto industry executive who also worked with Hyundai Motor, had joined Waymo in 2015 when it was still part of Google. During his tenure, Google spun out Waymo into a separate subsidiary of Alphabet, and the company raised over $3 billion from outside investors in a move that showed more independence from its parent company.
Google and Waymo have pursued self-driving car technology for over a decade. Waymo has introduced its own autonomous taxi service in the greater Phoenix area called Waymo One, and the company is currently in partnerships with a handful of automakers, including Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover, for building its self-driving technology into their vehicles.
