Gatik Strengthens Leadership Team With Key Appointments, Setting the Stage for Rapid Growth Amidst Accelerating Commercial Demand

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2025--

Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics, today announced the appointment of its first Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Legal Officer (CLO), marking a significant milestone in the company’s growth. This comes as Gatik prepares to launch Freight-Only (driverless) operations at scale later this year with multiple customers, ushering in the era of autonomous trucking.

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Patrick Archambault, Chief Financial Officer

Patrick Archambault joins Gatik as CFO, bringing 25 years of experience in the mobility space on both the investment research and operations side, with deep expertise in the autonomous vehicle industry. Judi Otteson has been appointed as CLO, leveraging 25 years of experience guiding companies through high-value IPOs, mergers, and acquisitions.

“We are seeing firsthand how commercial demand for autonomous middle-mile delivery continues to rise, underscoring the tremendous value that Patrick and Judi bring to the team as we scale our operations over the coming months,” said Gautam Narang, Gatik’s CEO and co-founder. “Their proven track record in strategic planning, resource management, and capital markets transactions, particularly within the mobility and technology sectors, will further strengthen Gatik’s leadership at a pivotal moment for both the company and the broader autonomous vehicle industry.”

Archambault joins Gatik from Quanergy Systems Inc., where he most recently held the role of Chief Financial Officer. Archambault also held the roles of Vice President of Finance, and Director of Financial Planning. Over his seven years at Quanergy, he helped lead the company’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2022, securing approximately $175 million in available liquidity to support continued expansion. He also managed the company's core financial operations, fundraising activities, and investor relations. Prior to Quanergy, Archambault spent 17+ years at Goldman Sachs as a Vice President in the Global Investment Research division where he played a leading role in IPOs for prominent mobility companies including Tesla, Delphi, and TRW. His expertise in the automotive and technology sectors makes him exceptionally well-suited to guide Gatik's financial operations moving forward.

"Joining Gatik at this pivotal moment is incredibly exciting," said Patrick Archambault, Gatik’s CFO. "The company is not only the leader in middle-mile autonomous trucking, but is also poised to redefine freight transportation for generations to come. Gatik is one of the most innovative players in this rapidly evolving industry, and I'm eager to contribute to its ambitious goals as it realizes Freight-Only operations at scale for customers across North America."

Otteson, who has been with Gatik for over 2 years as General Counsel, joined the company from Matterport Inc. where she managed complex international litigation, navigated corporate governance and regulatory affairs, and built a sustainable legal department that strengthened the company’s long-term growth. As General Counsel, Otteson led the legal portion of Matterport’s de-SPAC merger with Gores Holding VI, securing approximately $605 million in total cash, net of fees, and expenses paid. Before Matterport, Otteson worked at NewPhotonics Corporation, where she spent the last five years of her 11-year tenure serving as Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer. She launched the company’s global compliance program, which included a legal training initiative for over 2,000 employees. Otteson’s demonstrated history of taking multiple companies public, coupled with her deep, hands-on experience building robust legal frameworks, makes her an ideal fit for Gatik’s executive team.

“Gatik is uniquely positioned to bring autonomous middle-mile delivery solutions to America’s supply chain,” said Judi Otteson, Gatik’s CLO. “The company’s existing partnerships with North American giants like Walmart, Tyson Foods, and Kroger sets it apart as a leader in this fast-growing space. I am thrilled to support its rapid growth as Chief Legal Officer, ensuring we continue to raise industry standards in safety, compliance, and accountability, while delivering on the promise of safer, more accessible, and more efficient autonomous delivery solutions for our customers.”

With the addition of Archambault and Otteson, Gatik is strongly positioned to continue leading the autonomous middle-mile logistics sector as it prepares to enter its next phase of rapid expansion. By attracting world-class talent, developing industry-leading autonomous technology, and securing long-term contracts with the continent’s biggest names in retail, grocery, and eCommerce, Gatik is setting the stage to safely and successfully deploy Freight-Only operations at scale in 2025.

About Gatik

Gatik AI Inc., the leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics, is revolutionizing B2B supply chains by enabling safe, consistent, high-frequency freight movement. Gatik’s AI-Driven Autonomy is transforming short-haul logistics for Fortune 500 retailers, and in 2021 the company launched the world’s first driverless commercial transportation service with Walmart. Gatik’s medium-duty autonomous trucks are commercially deployed in multiple markets including Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, and Ontario. Gatik partners with industry leaders including Isuzu Motors, NVIDIA, Cummins, Ryder, and Goodyear. Founded in 2017 by veterans of the autonomous technology industry, the company has offices in Mountain View, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Toronto.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, statements regarding future business strategies, plans, objectives, and anticipated performance. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Gatik and are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.

Factors that could impact these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in market conditions, economic factors, competitive dynamics, regulatory developments, and unforeseen operational challenges. Gatik undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.

Judi Otteson, Chief Legal Officer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.

The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.

The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”

Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”

Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”

The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.

Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.

Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.

The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.

“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”

For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.

And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”

Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.

In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.

At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.

The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)