Company

Munich, May 11, 2022 –– The provider of automated logistics Fernride today announced the expansion of its management team. With Martin Isik and Thomas Bock, two top managers from BMW and Argo AI, the Munich teleoperations startup strengthens its C-Level. With the new managers, Fernride continues to drive the development of autonomous driving for the next automated and sustainable logistics - and positions itself more broadly before the upcoming round of financing.

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Thomas Bock joins from Argo AI and becomes Chief Operating Officer

Thomas Bock started as the new Chief Operating Officer at Fernride on April 1st. Bock was previously responsible for operations at AID GmbH, an Audi subsidiary for autonomous driving. After the takeover of AID by the US company Argo AI, a leader in the field of autonomous vehicles, the qualified engineer was responsible for Argo AI's operations in Europe.

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At Fernride, Bock is responsible for the development and operation of the technology for teleoperated and autonomous driving. He is also responsible for scaling them to the mass market. Under the aegis of Bock, Fernride is driving the development of autonomous driving forward - the company recently announced, together with well-known partners such as Bosch, Knorr- Bremse and MAN Truck & Bus, that it would be automating as part of the ATLAS-L4 project by the middle of the decade to get trucks on the road.

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"Fernride is synonymous with the automation of logistics," says the new Chief Operating Officer Thomas Bock. “The platform that the team has built is really impressive. The projects with DB Schenker, VW, MAN and Terberg speak for themselves. I am even more pleased to be able to enrich Fernride with my expertise in autonomous driving - and to further scale the technology into the market."

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The previous Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Maximilian Fisser changes to the position of Chief Product Officer as Bock joins Fernride's management team. In this role, product management will have an overview in the future.

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Ex-BMW Mann Isik is responsible for business development at Fernride as the new CCO/CFO

On May 1st, Martin Isik also took on the newly created roles of Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Financial Officer. In these positions, he is responsible for strategic corporate development, global strategic partnerships and the establishment of Fernride's finance department. Fernride will also use his expertise in corporate finance and in building strategic alliances and partnerships for the next round of financing.

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“The growth potential of Fernride is enormous. A European tech champion is currently being created here in Munich - especially with a view to the future of autonomous driving and the transition to automated and sustainable logistics. I am very much looking forward to advancing this aspiration in my new position,” said new CCO/CFO Martin Isik.

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Isik is also an industrial engineer and comes from BMW, where as Vice President he was responsible for digital product strategy and business development in autonomous driving. He was also involved in setting up the BMW venture fund BMW i Ventures from the start. Prior to that, he worked for more than half a decade at UBS Investment Bank in London in the Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions department.

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Fernride is best positioned for scaling automated logistics

A few weeks ago, Fernride had already announced a much-noticed personality. Holger Mandel, the former member of the Management Board of MAN Truck & Bus SE and CEO of MAN Truck & Bus Germany, has joined Fernride as a board member and investor. Mandel is moving to Fernride after a 30-year career with well-known large corporations and world market leaders.

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"Following the bang with which we recently announced the entry of Holger Mandel, we are of course all the happier to announce two more top newcomers from well-known companies today, Thomas Bock and Martin Isik," says Hendrik Kramer, co-founder and CEO of Fernride. “With Martin and Tom, two real heavyweights in autonomous driving reinforce our vision. This team puts us in the best position to drive forward the automation of logistics – and thus enable the industry to have a sustainable future.”