Cruise, a leading autonomous vehicle company, has named Marc Whitten as its new CEO, effective July 16. Whitten, a veteran in the tech industry, has a rich history in developing innovative products, particularly in the video game sector. He co-founded Xbox and played a crucial role in the development of Xbox Live.
Whitten’s most recent stint was as CTO and product head at Unity, a video game engine maker. Prior to that, he served as general manager and vice president at Amazon, overseeing various entertainment devices and services, including Fire TV, Kindle, and Amazon apps. Additionally, he was chief product officer at Sonos.
Whitten expressed excitement about joining Cruise, stating that he sees tremendous potential in transforming the transportation industry to make it safer and more accessible. He emphasized that this is an “opportunity of a lifetime” to be part of this evolution.
Under Whitten’s leadership, Mo Elshenawy will continue as president and chief technology officer. Meanwhile, Craig Glidden, who assumed the role of chief administrative officer, will step back from his role at General Motors to focus more on Cruise. He will now serve as president and chief administrative officer at Cruise and executive VP and strategic adviser at GM.
Furthermore, Cruise has hired Nick Mulholland, a former executive at Rivian, to lead its communications and marketing department.
