TuSimple, a global self-driving technology company, announced a new Executive Advisory Board, which the company said will guide the company on business and legislative issues.

The group will provide strategic advice to the company and its senior management team to accelerate the adoption of autonomous long-haul freight in areas including regulation, technology, freight logistics, and leadership.

“The Executive Advisory Board brings together a mix of world class industry and regulatory leaders in transportation,” said Cheng Lu, president and CEO, TuSimple. “Our advisors will play a critical role in shaping our go to market strategy and correlating public policy efforts so we can safely and reliably introduce self-driving trucks at scale.”

The members are:

Jeff Denham, Former Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Denham was an accomplished leader in the U.S. House of Representatives and a decorated Air Force Staff Sergeant and Gulf War veteran with in-depth legislative and political knowledge of agriculture, transportation and infrastructure, natural resources, veterans, immigration, and California-centric policies.

Eric Fuller, President and CEO, U.S. Xpress Enterprises

Fuller brings 20 years of experience in the transportation, trucking and railroad industry. U.S. Xpress, one of the largest asset-based carriers in the country, is a digital transportation solutions provider focused on innovation. It recently introduced a "digital fleet," will soon introduce a new brokerage offering called Variant, and has made investments in the fuel cell and autonomous spaces.

Steve Girsky, Managing Partner, VectoIQ

VectoIQ is an independent advisory firm based in New York. Girksy has more than 30 years of experience working with senior corporate and board executives, labor leaders, OEM leaders, suppliers and dealers, and national and local policy makers. He served in a number of capacities at General Motors from from 2009 until 2014, including vice chairman. Prior to that, he was president of Centerbridge Industrial Partners and managing director at Morgan Stanley and senior analyst of the Morgan Stanley Global Automotive and Auto Parts Research Team. He currently serves as chairman of the board of Nikola Corp. and is on several other boards of directors.

Jim Kolbe, Former Member, U.S. House of Representatives

Kolbe served in the House for over 22 years, including six years on the House Budget Committee and 20 years on the Appropriations Committee. Today, he currently serves as a senior transatlantic fellow at German Marshall Fund, where he advises on trade matters, on U.S.-E.U. relationships, and on migration and its relationship to development. In Arizona, he is co-chair of the Governor’s Transportation and Trade Task Force and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Derek Leathers, Vice Chairman, President and CEO, Werner Enterprises

With over 20 years of transportation and logistics industry experience, Leathers leads Werner Enterprises. Throughout his tenure at Werner, he has held integral roles in many facets of the organization, including the establishment of Werner’s Mexico operations and oversight for all the asset operating groups.

Mark Rourke, President and CEO, Schneider

A freight industry veteran, Rourke joined Schneider in 1987 and has since been leading, building, and positioning Schneider for ongoing success. Today, he serves as the company’s CEO and president and is a member of the Board of Directors. He also serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Jean-Jacques Ruest, President and CEO, CN

With nearly 40 years of experience, Ruest has been in his current position at CN since 2018. Having joined the railway in 1996, he previously served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. He has been honored many times by the business community, notably as 2019 Railroader of the Year and an Inductee to the International Maritime Hall of Fame in 2017.