Aicha Evans | |
|---|---|
 Evans (2019) | |
| Born | 1969 (age 54–55) |
| Education | The George Washington University |
| Occupation | CEO of Zoox |
Aichatou Sar Evans (born 1969), [1] known professionally as Aicha Evans, is an American chief executive officer of Amazon's self-driving car subsidiary Zoox. In June 2020, Evans led the acquisition of her company by Amazon for US$1.3 billion.
Evans was born in Senegal and spent her childhood in Paris. [2] [3] After immigrating to the United States, she studied at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., [2] where she received a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering in 1996. [4]
Evans has held engineering management positions at companies including Rockwell Semiconductor, Conexant, and Skyworks Solutions. [4]
Evans joined Intel in 2006, [3] and spent 12 years with the firm, specializing in leading wireless engineering projects utilizing technologies like Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, XMM register, and 5G. [5] In 2013, Evans assumed leadership of a communications and devices division [3] with more than 7,000 employees. In 2017, Evans was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer. [2] In a Federal Trade Commission case against Qualcomm, Evans served as a witness alleging unfair business practices [6] and potential anti-trust violations.
In February 2019, Evans joined Zoox as its new CEO. [4] [7] In doing so, she became the first Senegalese-American female CEO of an autonomous vehicle technology company. [4] [8] [3] In June 2020, Evans led the acquisition of her company by Amazon for US$1.3 billion. [9] [7] A Forbes analysis suggests that Evans' decision to pursue aggressive patent coverage in the mobility space led to Amazon's interest. [10] Evans will continue to manage the company as a stand-alone business post-acquisition. [11]
Evans serves as a trustee for the Anita Borg Institute for Women & Technology. [5] She was a co-signatory of an open letter written by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group addressing racial intolerance of Chinese Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. [12]
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