Bot Auto has appointed freight industry executive Brett Suma as President and Chief Operating Officer, adding nearly three decades of transportation experience as the company seeks to scale its autonomous trucking operations beyond initial driverless freight deployments.
Suma joins Bot Auto alongside David Stemm, who has been named Vice President of Commercial Operations, and Jessica Kane, who will serve as Vice President of Commercial Finance. The appointments come shortly after the company completed what it described as the first fully humanless commercial freight load transported on a U.S. public highway.
Leadership Team Brings Freight Operations Experience
Suma began his career at Knight Transportation before founding freight technology company Loadsmith and later TrailerHawk.ai, a trailer technology firm acquired by Wabash in 2025.
Stemm and Kane, who previously worked alongside Suma, bring additional experience in commercial operations, fleet management and transportation network development. Bot Auto said the appointments are intended to strengthen the operational side of the business as it moves from technology demonstrations toward commercial deployment.
The company believes that freight operations expertise will be critical in building a scalable autonomous trucking business alongside advances in self-driving technology.
Company Focuses on Commercial Scaling
Dr. Xiaodi Hou, founder and chief executive officer of Bot Auto, said the company is now focused on converting technical milestones into a sustainable freight network.
“We have proven that humanless commercial truckloads are possible, but we understand that technology alone cannot drive value creation,” Hou said.
“This industry is complex for good reasons, and building a scalable autonomous freight product requires humility, flexibility, and relentless creativity. That is the challenge I am most excited about.”
Hou added that the new executives bring practical freight expertise that will help support the company’s next phase of growth.
“Brett, David, and Jessica understand freight at the operating level, and they give Bot Auto the practical leadership we need to turn a first-of-its-kind milestone into a real commercial network.”
Texas Expansion Remains a Priority
Bot Auto said the new leadership team will help advance plans to expand autonomous freight operations in Texas, where the company has already outlined a driver-out commercial strategy along the Houston-to-San Antonio corridor.
Suma said his immediate focus will be on building the operational structure needed to scale autonomous freight services.
“The industry is at a crossroads. While others are still testing, Bot Auto has already proven that humanless commercial freight is a reality,” Suma said.
“My job now is to build the operational backbone that makes it scale; the right corridors, the right economics, the right network architecture.”
He added that Texas provides an attractive starting point for expansion.
“Texas is the ideal starting point, and we’re thinking corridor by corridor until we’ve built something the traditional trucking model simply can’t compete with.”
Company Plans Additional Driverless Freight Routes
Bot Auto said the appointments form part of a broader leadership expansion that has also included the creation of a strategic advisory board composed of transportation, policy and finance specialists.
The Houston-based company, which operates under a Transportation-as-a-Service model, plans to expand its fleet of autonomous trucks, increase the number of driverless freight movements and add additional humanless freight corridors across Texas during the year.
Suma said the company’s long-term mission was a key factor behind his decision to join the autonomous trucking developer.
“I believe in the mission, and I believe in what this technology means for the people in trucking, not just the business case. Joining Xiaodi and this team felt like the natural next step in everything I’ve been building toward.”