Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshah has been chose to lead Uber.
ExpediaTwo days after his name was first mentioned as Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi has officially been named to fill the position.
Khosrowshah, the former CEO of online travel company Expedia, was introduced as the ride-hailing company’s new CEO in a letter sent to Uber employees by the company’s board of directors late Tuesday. The appointment, which the board said was unanimous, marks the end of a two-month search to replace co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick, who resigned in June.
“We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent and vision,” the board’s letter said. “The board and the executive leadership team are confident that Dara is the best person to lead Uber into the future building world-class products, transforming cities, and adding value to the lives of drivers and riders around the world while continuously improving our culture and making Uber the best place to work.”
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The hiring ends a contentious search for an executive to fill the position, which had been vacant since co-founder Kalanick was forced out of the under investor pressure. The board was widely expected to vote on appointing former GE chief Jeff Immelt as CEO. Immelt was considered the front-runner for the position, but earlier in the day, he announced by tweet that he had withdrawn his name from consideration.
Meg Whitman, currently head of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and formerly of eBay, had also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the position, but Whitman put that speculation to rest in late July when she proclaimed “Uber’s CEO will not be Meg Whitman.”
The new leadership comes as the San Francisco-based startup tries to recover from a tumultuous few months that saw Kalanick forced out amid a slew of scandals, including sexual harassment allegations that saw more than 20 Uber employees fired. The company is defending itself against a trade-secret theft lawsuit from Waymo, a self-driving car business run by Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Uber is also under federal scrutiny for use of its so-called Greyball tool, secretive software for evading local authorities in cities where the service isn’t yet legal. The Justice Department reportedly opened a criminal investigation into the tool in May. Uber has said it would stop using the tool.
Khosrowshahi joined Expedia as CEO in 2005 after seven years at Barry Diller’s IAC, which shortly after spun off the travel site. Under Khosrowshahi, Expedia expanded by buying companies in similar businesses, including Trivago, Travelocity and Orbitz. He also sits on several boards, including at The New York Times.
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