Waymo CFO and Automotive Partnerships Head to Depart

Waymo Experiences Executive Departures

Significant changes are occurring within Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company. Both the Chief Financial Officer, Ger Dwyer, and the Head of Automotive Partnerships and Corporate Development, Adam Frost, are set to depart this month.

These departures follow a period of executive restructuring initiated after the previous CEO, John Krafcik, stepped down earlier in the year.

Internal Announcement and Confirmation

The news of Dwyer and Frost’s leaving was communicated internally this week, as reported by multiple sources. Waymo has officially confirmed these transitions to TechCrunch.

A company spokesperson expressed gratitude for their contributions, stating, “We’re grateful to Ger and Adam for all they’ve done for Waymo and wish them all the best.” An executive search is currently underway to identify a new CFO.

Recent Executive Turnover

Dwyer’s departure is part of a broader trend of executive changes at Waymo over the past five months.

Krafcik announced his resignation as CEO in April. Prior to this, Deborah Hersman, the Chief Safety Officer, left in December, and Tim Willis, head of manufacturing and global supply, departed in February. Sherry House, formerly treasurer and head of investor relations, also left in April and is now serving as CFO at Lucid Motors.

Leadership Stability Remains

Despite these changes, key leaders remain in place. Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov are now co-CEOs of Waymo.

They have the backing of Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, as indicated during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. Most department heads reporting to Mawakana and Dolgov are still with the company, with a few exceptions.

Notably, David Twohig, former director of Future Automotive, and Qi Hommes, previously head of system safety, both left in March. Hommes has since joined Zoox as director of system safety engineering and analysis.

Demand for CFOs and Industry Trends

Dwyer’s exit coincides with a surge in demand for experienced CFOs, driven by the increasing number of public offerings, including those facilitated through SPAC mergers.

House’s move to Lucid Motors, a company going public via a SPAC merger, exemplifies this trend.

Dwyer’s Tenure at Waymo

Dwyer is a long-standing Google employee, having joined the company in 2006. He transitioned to Waymo in August 2016, shortly before the self-driving project officially spun out from Google.

Throughout his time at Waymo, Dwyer oversaw the financial aspects of the business as it expanded from a small team to over 2,000 employees.

Frost’s Contributions to Partnerships

Adam Frost played a crucial role in establishing automotive partnerships for Waymo. He joined Google’s self-driving project in 2013, bringing with him nearly 17 years of experience from Ford Motor Co.

Initially hired as a chief engineer, Frost progressed to chief automotive programs and partnerships officer, and ultimately chief automotive and corporate development officer.

Under his leadership, Waymo secured exclusive partnerships with automakers such as Volvo, Stellantis, Renault, and Nissan, exploring the potential of commercial autonomous vehicles for passenger and package transport in France and Japan.

Geographic Expansion

During Dwyer and Frost’s tenures, Waymo significantly expanded its operational footprint beyond California.

The company initiated testing in cities like Austin and Kirkland, Washington, and established operations in Chandler, Arizona, where it currently operates the Waymo One ride-hailing service with both driverless and safety-operator vehicles.

Fundraising and Commercialization Efforts

Last year, Waymo completed its first external fundraising round, initially raising $2.25 billion, later increased to $3 billion.

This round was led by Silver Lake, with investments from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Mubadala Investment Company, Magna, Andreessen Horowitz, AutoNation, and Alphabet.

Additional capital came from new investors, including T. Rowe Price, Perry Creek Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company, among others.

Ramping Up Commercial Enterprise

The external funding followed a period of increased activity, indicating Waymo’s focus on commercialization. This included expanding its fleet in Mountain View, California, the Phoenix area, and Texas.

Waymo also began exploring new applications for its autonomous vehicle technology, such as delivery, trucking, and the potential sale of its custom lidar sensors to companies in robotics, security, and agricultural technology.

Acquisition and European Expansion

Under Dwyer’s leadership, Waymo also made strategic acquisitions. In December 2019, the company acquired Latent Logic, a U.K.-based company spun out of Oxford University’s computer science department.

This acquisition leveraged Latent Logic’s expertise in imitation learning to enhance Waymo’s simulation capabilities and marked the launch of Waymo’s first European engineering hub in Oxford, U.K.