Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation is pleased to announce that effective as of February 23, 2024, the company’s co-founder and former CEO, Ben Wolff, will resume the role of president and CEO as the Company pursues its next phase of innovation and growth, with a concerted focus on commercializing and deploying the robotic artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) software platform that the Company began developing under Wolff’s leadership in 2019. Laura Peterson, who served as CEO of Sarcos for much of 2023, will assume the role of executive vice chairman and will continue to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors.
“When Laura took on the CEO role last year, the Company was working on bringing eight different robotic hardware products to market and the Company’s AI platform was primarily being considered as a value add to the hardware. After a thorough analysis led by Laura, the Company has suspended the development of its hardware products, substantially extended its financial runway and narrowed its focus to leverage its unique AI platform to enhance the productivity of the large installed base of industrial robots around the world,” said Sarcos Chairman Dennis Weibling. “We can’t thank Laura enough for repositioning the Company for success.”
“It has been an honor to have served Sarcos during this crucial transition period,” said Laura Peterson. “With the pivot to focus on our AI platform, it is the right time to bring Ben back to lead the Company.”
“Ben brings a wealth of industry experience, a deep understanding of the Company and a proven track record of visionary leadership, which were instrumental in establishing Sarcos as a pioneering force in the robotics industry. Wolff is uniquely suited to lead Sarcos and drive sustainable growth for the Company moving forward,” continued Weibling.
Wolff co-founded Sarcos in 2015 and served as its CEO until 2021 and has served on the Company’s Board of Directors since 2015, including as Executive Chairman from December 2021 to January 2023. In addition to his role at Sarcos, Wolff serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the satellite communications company, Globalstar, Inc. Before co-founding Sarcos, Wolff led the restructuring and turnaround of a publicly traded satellite communications company, co-founded and led Clearwire Corporation, which was sold to Sprint for more than $14 billion, and served as President of Eagle River Investments, an investment fund focused on telecom and technology investments.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead this next chapter for Sarcos,” said Wolff. “We will continue to focus our energy and resources on commercializing our AI software solution and not let ourselves be distracted by anything that does not support that effort. While we will provide required or important updates, I expect us to be relatively quiet as we execute on achieving this objective. We will also continue to work on reducing expenses to give the Company the financial runway it needs to reach profitability.”
SOURCE: BusinessWire
