Tekedra Mawakana

Tekedra Mawakana
Born	1971 Mississippi, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Attorney, business executive
Years active	–present
Known for	Co-chief executive officer of Waymo

Tekedra Nzinga Mawakana (born 1971; formerly Jefferson; née McGee) is an American attorney and executive currently serving as co-chief executive officer of Waymo. Prior to this, she was Waymo's chief operating officer and has held positions at Steptoe & Johnson, AOL, Yahoo!, and eBay. Mawakana holds board memberships with the Consumer Technology Association, the Global Network Initiative, the Internet Association, Boom Supersonic, Operator Collective, and Intuit.

Early life and education

Originally from Mississippi, Mawakana also spent parts of her upbringing in Georgia, Texas, and Virginia.

She completed her undergraduate studies in political science at Trinity Washington University in 1993, followed by earning a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School.

Career

Mawakana launched her professional journey at Steptoe & Johnson, specializing in matters related to intellectual property and telecommunication. She later worked as corporate counsel for Startec Global Communications, a medium-sized telecommunications firm based near Washington. Her career then transitioned into policy-focused legal roles at AOL and subsequently Yahoo!. After approximately twelve years at AOL, she became deputy general counsel at Yahoo! in 2013, where she led the Washington, D.C. office and spearheaded initiatives opposing mass surveillance. In 2016, she took on the role of head of global government relations at eBay for a period of fourteen months.

In 2017, Mawakana joined Waymo as vice president of public policy and government affairs, working on expanding autonomous vehicle testing, regulatory frameworks, and competition with established automakers. By 2019, she advanced to the position of chief operating officer, managing communications, marketing, business development, operations, corporate social responsibility, and public relations. Since April 2021, she has served as co-chief executive officer alongside Dmitri Dolgov, with Mawakana concentrating on business strategy while Dolgov leads technology efforts. This distinctive co-leadership model has been instrumental in achieving key milestones for Waymo. Notably, she is the second African American woman to head a company specializing in self-driving technology.

Board membership and recognition

Mawakana is a member of the board of industry leaders for the Consumer Technology Association, serves on the advisory council for Boom Supersonic, and sits on the board of directors at Intuit. Additionally, she contributes to the advisory board of Operator Collective, an investment firm, and is involved with Saving Promise’s board, an organization dedicated to combating domestic violence. She has also chaired the Internet Association and participated on the board of the Global Network Initiative.

Her achievements have been acknowledged through various honors: in 2015, Washingtonian magazine listed her among its "100 Top Tech Leaders" for her role at Yahoo! defending user privacy against NSA surveillance. In 2020, Automotive News recognized her as one of "100 leading women" within North America’s automotive sector due to her impact at Waymo. Most recently, in 2024, TIME magazine named her among the 100 most influential figures in artificial intelligence.

Personal life

Mawakana lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2021, she finalized her divorce from Kemit Mawakana, previously known as Samuel Jefferson.

See also

• List of Columbia Law School alumni