Robert Playter, the chief executive officer of Boston Dynamics, Hyundai Motor Group’s US-based robotics unit that made recent headlines with humanoid robot Atlas, will step down later this month after more than six years at the helm and three decades at the company.
Playter informed employees of his decision in an internal memo on Tuesday. He will retire from the industry, with his final day set on Feb. 27.
Following his departure, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Amanda McMaster will lead the company as interim CEO until the board appoints a new leader.
Playter joined the Massachusetts-based company in its very early years in 1994, after completing a PhD in aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was appointed chief operating officer in 2018, before becoming CEO in November 2019.
Under his leadership, the company expanded commercialization of its robots, including the four-legged robot Spot and warehouse automation system Stretch. At CES in January, the company unveiled the fully electric humanoid robot Atlas, with plans to deploy them at Hyundai’s US plant in 2028 and across other factories in the US.
During his tenure, Boston Dynamics underwent significant ownership transitions. The company, which was originally spun off from MIT in 1992, was acquired by Google's parent company Alphabet in 2013 and then sold to SoftBank in 2017, before being bought by Hyundai Motor Group for $1.1 billion in June 2021.
“For more than 30 years, I have dedicated my life to building the world’s best robots alongside the world’s best team, and I could not be prouder of the company we have built together,” Playter said in the memo. “A new CEO will bring the experience and energy required for this next phase."
He added that the existing leadership team is "strong, capable and united" and know what "this business needs to achieve as we prepare to produce robots at mass scale."
Boston Dynamics in a statement described Playter as an “icon of the global robotics industry,” who transformed the company “from a small research and development lab into a successful business that now proudly calls itself the global leader in mobile robotics.”
Playter's exit comes amid Hyundai Motor Group's broader push into robotics and artificial intelligence as part of its effort to transform the automaker into a future mobility and smart manufacturing company. The South Korean auto giant has positioned Boston Dynamics at the center of this strategy, with plans to integrate advanced robots into its production lines and logistics operations.
sahn@heraldcorp.com
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