Uber's troubles over the past few months have been well documented and a failure to properly address them eventually led to the ouster of the company's charismatic co-founder and Ceo Travis Kalanick in June. The company has been looking for a new CEO to take them out of the doldrums for some time and today the company announced that Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi will be their new CEO.
A new era
Uber is all set to usher in a new era following a period of grave uncertainty that saw the company's reputation being dragged through the mud. The company announced today that the company have chosen a new CEO but did not reveal the identity of the individual who will lead the world's most valuable start-up.
However, according to a Bloomberg report, the new CEO is Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi. Uber stated that the company will first inform the employees about the new CEO and only then an announcement will be made. Expedia, on the other hand, refused to comment on the situation.
The members of Uber's board were involved in meetings during the weekend and the choice came down to three candidates in the end, according to people close to the developments. Other than Dara Khosrowshahi, Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric were in contention. Immelt later took to Twitter on Sunday and withdrew his candidature.
Basket of challenges
Although the former CEO Travis Kalanick helped the company turn the company into a behemoth and clocked booking business worth $20 billion a year, he also left behind a company that is beset with a variety of challenges.
The scandals that plagued Uber eventually led to his ouster and the new CEO will need to confront those challenges as soon as he assumes control of the company.
Although it is true that Whitman or Immelt might have been bigger names, the Uber board has gone for a rather inspired choice by appointing the proverbial dark horse.
As a matter of fact, Khosrowshahi's named had not even made it into the media despite the persistent leaks from inside the company.
Khosrowshahi, who was born in Iran, went to Brown University for his engineering degree and then worked at investment banking firm Allen & Co. During his stint at Expedia, he had made some clever acquisitions like Home Away and Orbitz to further consolidate the company's position as one of the leaders in its industry. However, Uber presents a unique challenge and the next few months could be quite interesting.
