HOUSTON, TX - Strengthening its commitment to safety in autonomous trucking, Bot Auto has appointed industry veteran Dean Degazio as Director of Autonomy Safety. Degazio brings over two decades of experience in autonomous vehicle safety, systems engineering, and standards and compliance leadership to Bot Auto.

"Dean isn't just bringing incredible technical expertise to our team – he's bringing the kind of real-world wisdom that only comes from being in the trenches of this industry from its earliest days," said Dr. Xiaodi Hou, Founder and CEO of Bot Auto. "I've been particularly impressed with how Dean balances rigorous safety standards with practical implementation. That's exactly the mindset we need as we continue revolutionizing the freight industry."

Degazio joins Bot Auto following a distinguished career that includes recently serving at the US Department of Transportation working on automated driving research and regulations.  Prior to his government service, Degazio held senior safety leadership positions at a number of autonomous vehicle companies as well as General Motors, where he was awarded the Boss Kettering Award for Super Cruise safety innovation.

"I'm excited to join Bot Auto and help bring transformative autonomous trucking innovation to America’s roadways," said Degazio. “Assuring safety and confidence in automated driving systems will require both industry-proven and creative approaches and will emerge through driving solid argumentation and a rigorous evaluation of the whole system”.

In his new role, Degazio will lead Bot Auto's autonomy safety initiatives, ensuring the company's upcoming driver-out program meets the highest safety standards while adhering to the company's development approach. His expertise in developing safety cases for autonomous driving launch projects and implementing system safety standards will be instrumental as Bot Auto moves from technological innovation to commercial implementation.

The appointment comes as Bot Auto continues to make rapid progress toward its commercial goals, having achieved hub-to-hub driverless demonstrations in just three months. The company remains focused on addressing the growing driver shortage in the freight industry, which currently stands at 78,000 and is projected to double by 2031.

About Bot Auto
Bot Auto is driving innovation on the road to autonomous trucking. Founded in 2023 and based in Houston, Texas, Bot Auto is a Level 4 autonomous trucking company focused on developing and operating our Transportation as a Service (TaaS) autonomous truck fleet for freight customers. Our mission is to revolutionize the transportation industry with our autonomous trucks, making a lasting positive impact on humanity. By leveraging advanced technology and our extensive experience in the AV industry, we aim to transform goods transportation into the future of sustainable and efficient logistics.