Veteran tech executive Frank Fink has joined UK self-driving tech firm Wayve as director of automotive partnerships, bringing extensive experience in first-of-its-kind deals and a strong background in AV partnerships. Fink has been tasked with building relationships with global automotive OEMs to commercialize Wayve’s self-driving technology.
With a long career leading business development and partnerships teams across the tech sector, Fink was most recently at Waymo, where he managed the team responsible for developing the Zeekr robotaxi vehicle in partnership with Chinese automaker Geely. Prior to Waymo, Fink held senior positions at companies including Dropbox, Nokia, Samsung and Microsoft. He began his career as a litigation attorney.
“Frank is a seasoned business leader with the right skills and experience to lead Wayve in this exciting next chapter,” said Alex Kendall, co-founder & CEO, Wayve. “The AV industry is at an inflection point with the first commercial services forming in limited areas. Wayve’s next-generation AV2.0 approach to autonomous driving is ideal for commercial deployments, as it presents a vehicle-friendly integration that can easily adapt to new cities around the world. Now that we have started our first commercial trials, it is the right time to explore automotive partnerships to scale our AV2.0 technology. Frank’s work will be critical in driving our AV2.0 commercialization efforts forward by collaborating with the global automotive industry, ensuring a path to scaled production. Our team is thrilled to have Frank on board, and we look forward to learning from his leadership.”
Fink himself added: “I couldn’t be more excited to join Wayve. AV2.0 represents a step change in self-driving systems that will dramatically accelerate the scaling of autonomous mobility across different platforms and operating systems. Wayve has assembled an all-star team that is uniquely positioned to bring this transformational technology to market.”
Fink’s arrival comes hot on the heels of the appointment of Silvius Rus as Wayve’s new vice president of software.