What is the worst mistake a CEO can make? Certainly many, but what about sharing your company secrets with another who could potentially be your competitor.
XiaodiHouco-founder of TuSimple, an autonomous truck company with operations in the United States, was removed from his positions as CEO, president and chief technology officer of said company.
The firm’s board of directors fired Hou after an internal investigation revealed possible links and technology transfer with Hydron Inc.a hydrogen-powered autonomous truck startup that is backed by Chinese investors and was founded in 2021 by Mo Chen, one of the co-founders of TuSimple.
The report, unveiled in a regulatory filing on Monday, explained that some of TuSimple’s employees are believed to have spent paid hours in 2021 working for Hydron, and that these workers also shared sensitive information with Hydron before an agreement was signed. of confidentiality.
The relationship of both companies is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, which seeks to discover if the leader of TuSimple did not communicate adequately about the transactions with Hydron and if they harmed investors, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The former CEO of TuSimple denies it
On his LinkedIn account, Hou published a letter that he sent to the company team. In the letter, the executive qualifies the council’s processes and conclusions as questionable.
“As the facts come to light, I am confident that my decisions as CEO and President, and our vision for TuSimple, will be vindicated… I have been completely transparent in both my professional and personal lives and have cooperated fully with the Board because I do not have anything to hide. I want to make it clear that I strongly deny any suggestion of misconduct,” he said.
Evangelist?
Hou co-founded TuSimple in 2015 with Mo Chen, in March this year Hou became CEO, and in an interview with CNBCexpressed that he wanted to be an “evangelist of the potential of autonomous transport”.
“Who is the best person to lead this company? It’s me! Because I am a ruthless decision-making machine that is backed by a technical background,” Hou said.
What do you think of Xiaodi Hou, do you think he is innocent?
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.