Former Uber Elevate leader joins SmartHop amidst massive expansion with a headcount growth of 31% in 2021
MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SmartHop, the total dispatch solution that enables businesses to truck smarter not harder, today announced the appointment of Amy Liu as chief of staff, the first employee in SmartHop’s New York office, as well as the opening of a new office in Bogotá, Colombia. With these recent additions, SmartHop’s headcount has increased by 31% since the start of 2021, indicating strong growth for the Miami-based company amidst the pandemic. SmartHop expects to double its 2020 headcount by the end of the year.
“As SmartHop continues to enhance our solution and expand our headcount, Amy brings tremendously valuable experience in operations and logistics to our team,” said Guillermo Garcia, CEO and co-founder of SmartHop. “I’m thrilled Amy decided to join and help SmartHop deliver on our mission to help level the playing field for independent owner-operators.”
Liu is the first employee in SmartHop’s new New York City office, where a number of leadership positions will reside as the company continues to expand following its $12M series A round earlier this year. As chief of staff, Liu will set up the organization for scale and help the team execute on its priorities. Before joining SmartHop, she served as the senior marketplace operations manager at Uber Elevate, making her the fourth Uber alumnae to join the executive ranks at SmartHop alongside Jeff Ogren (head of marketing) and JP Restrepo (general manager). Before Uber, Liu was an operations analyst at Goldman Sachs, where she worked on the sales and trading business.
“Legacy trucking enterprises have the means to digitally transform, but this can’t come at the expense of independent drivers and owner-operators who traditionally have not been equipped with the same resources,” said Liu. “SmartHop’s mission to help the smaller players — which make up a majority of the trucking industry — drove my decision to join the company. I’m excited to work alongside Guillermo and this growing team to create a positive impact for drivers and level the playing field to help them thrive.”
Headquartered in Miami, SmartHop was founded by Garcia, who worked as a pet food delivery driver and turned it into a 500-person trucking company in his native Venezuela before immigrating to the U.S. The company has secured over $16M in funding since early 2020, grown its team and network aggressively, and announced key partnerships with logistics players including Loadsmart, Redwood Logistics and Parade. SmartHop’s product roadmap for 2021 includes the launch of Copilot, a technology-assisted dispatch tool that helps plan better, more profitable routes with higher-paying loads and which suggests options for the next load so truckers can plan their next move.
SmartHop has helped customers increase their top line by at least nine percent compared to the average market standards. This competitive cost structure has boosted drivers’ take-home pays by more than 48 percent.
For more information about SmartHop, including open career opportunities, visit www.smarthop.co
About SmartHop
North American truckers move billions of tons of freight annually, and SmartHop is here to move with them as their trusted copilot. Founded for truckers by truckers, SmartHop uses artificial intelligence to deliver smart load recommendations, full-service back-office support, and fintech products for small trucking companies. We handle everything truckers need so they can focus on the road. For more information, visit: www.smarthop.co
Contacts
Stephanie Chan
Senior Account Manager
smarthop@shiftcomm.com
