Torc makes interim CFO permanent

Blacksburg-based self-driving truck company Torc Robotics, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck, hired Richard Kannan as its new chief financial officer, the company announced Thursday. Kannan, who had served as interim CFO since August, will also become a member of Torc’s executive leadership team.

“Richard has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to Torc during his time as interim CFO, and I am thrilled to welcome him as a permanent member of our executive team,” Peter Vaughan Schmidt, Torc Robotics’ CEO, said in a statement. “Richard helps shape our operational and business decisions using a data-driven approach. This will be essential as we work toward scalable market entry in 2027.”

Before joining Torc, Kannan worked in several industries and has served in senior roles for General Electric, where he worked for 16 years, and Genworth Financial, where he worked for a decade, according to his LinkedIn page.

“Being able to contribute to Torc’s vision of transforming the trucking industry with autonomous technology is an incredible opportunity and one that I look forward to taking on as chief financial officer,” Kannan said in a statement. “To collaborate with such smart people here at Torc, alongside our partner Daimler Truck AG, is an honor. I look forward to helping create value for our many stakeholders as we drive the future of freight.”

Kannan is a licensed CPA in Virginia and has a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In December 2023, Torc hired a new chief information security officer, Summer Craze Fowler.

Torc was founded as Torc Technologies in 2005 by a group of Virginia Tech robotics students and originally stood for Tele-Operated Robotic Controls. It has test facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico and engineering offices in Austin, Texas; Stuttgart, Germany, and Montreal, Canada. Daimler Truck acquired Torc in 2019. In 2022, Schmidt became its CEO.