Torc names regulatory, safety SVP

Blacksburg-based Torc Robotics has named Michelle Chaka as senior vice president overseeing safety and regulatory matters, the self-driving truck company announced Wednesday.

Chaka, who most recently has worked as a director for safety assurance and standards for Pittsburgh-based autonomous trucking solutions firm Locomation Inc., will oversee and coordinate safety across the company, including its safety management system program, regulatory compliance and industry best practices. She will also chair Torc’s safety board and co-chair its legal and regulatory safety committee.

Chaka has more than 25 years of safety and regulatory experience in transportation, including in engineering and management roles at Ford Motor Co., and also worked as program and division director at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, according to her LinkedIn account. She has also led automated driving research projects sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Chaka has a master’s degree in automotive engineering technology from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University.

“Torc is dedicated to saving lives through the use of innovative technologies. From my first conversation with the Torc team, it was evident that saving lives was more than an aspirational mission, it is a Torc core value,” Chaka said in a statement.

Torc is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. The company announced in August 2022 that Peter Vaughan Schmidt would succeed Michael Fleming as CEO. Torc was acquired by Daimler Truck in 2019.