About Rod D. Martin
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August 20, 2016
Analysis
Despite the recent scrutiny surrounding autonomous vehicles, the technology seems to be picking up speed. After three months of testing on the streets of Pittsburgh, Uber has announced that its fleet of self-driving Volvo XC90s will go live later in August. Customers in downtown Pittsburgh will be able to summon a self-driving car, which, for now, will still be manned by an Uber driver who can intervene in the car’s operation if need be.
And Volvo may soon have competition. Ford announced Aug. 16 that it intends to deploy its own fully autonomous vehicles for ride-booking — targeting Uber directly — by 2021. To support its plans, the company has doubled its Silicon Valley and Palo Alto teams and is investing in or collaborating with four startups specializing in light detection and ranging sensors, machine learning, machine vision and 3D mapping, respectively. In addition, traffic navigation app Waze — whose parent company, Alphabet’s Google, is perhaps the most advanced developer in autonomous car technology — unveiled its own plans earlier this year to join the ride-booking game. These announcements reveal how technology is changing the economy.
Over the past five years, the peer-to-peer economy (also known as the sharing economy), which includes companies and services such as Uber, Airbnb and crowdfunding sites, has grown significantly. Operating outside the confines of traditional economic growth models that have stagnated in recent decades, a decentralized peer-to-peer economy has the potential to stimulate jobs, economic growth and productivity. At the same time, however, government regulation and public acceptance still pose challenges to these nascent industries. Uber, for example, pulled out of the ride-booking market in Austin, Texas, after voters passed a proposition requiring fingerprinting for all drivers.
As the technology continues to develop and gain traction, widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles is still years away. Even so, its use in certain sectors, including ride-booking and commercial long-haul driving, could be prevalent within the next five years. The resulting improvement in supply chain efficiency could have isolated but significant effects, for instance by providing a solution to the shortage of qualified truck drivers as demand for long-haul commercial trucking keeps growing. Uber is working on this, as well. In July, the company announced that it reached an agreement to buy Otto, a new startup initiated up by several ex-Google self-driving car engineers that focused on retrofitting existing big rigs for autonomous capabilities.
— The Market for Autonomous Vehicles Revs Up is republished with permission of Stratfor.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.
