One finalist, Jeffrey R. Immelt, the former chief of General Electric, withdrew on Sunday when it became clear that he did not have enough support, said two people familiar with the process.
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It remains to be seen how well Kalanick, who still sits on the board and controls two other unoccupied board seats, will work with Khosrowshahi, who has spent more than a decade leading the Bellevue, Washington-based travel company. He completed his graduation from Brown University, a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, and he has previously worked at media and internet company InterActiveCorp (IAC), and investment bank Allen & Company. He also sits on the board of The New York Times Company.
Expedia was one of the first tech companies to file a legal challenge against Trump’s travel ban, citing the potential harm it could do its employees and customers.
If he accepts the position, Khosrowshahi will be tasked with helping Uber turn the page after a scandalous year, including workplace sexual harassment issues, mass firings and departures, and questions about its former CEO’s management skills.
Khosrowshahi is an Iranian immigrant. Khosrowshahi immigrated to the USA with his family at age 9 and settled in Westchester County.
By some accounts the search process was almost as much a debacle as all the other recent trials that Uber has to contend with.
The company released its latest financial results after several mutual funds marked down the value of their stakes in Uber following a slew of PR crises.
The 48-year-old executive may need to heed those words at Uber, which is facing growing competition at home and overseas. Other executives, for example Uber’s first employee and SCP of global operations, have also left the company recently. Khosrowshahi will be charged with turning around Uber’s reputation and direction following a series of scandals under Travis Kalanick, the previous Uber CEO.
During his tenure as Expedia’s CEO, Khosrowshahi also served for a period as President of Brand Expedia business. And what made Uber’s board of directors fall for him unanimously? As such he knows both about the transition to public life, and about the demands of serving as a public-company boss.
As Uber struggles, its competitors have been mobilizing overseas and at home.
Uber Technologies Inc.’s new chief executive officer likely comes with a price tag in the neighborhood of $200 million.
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Priceline veteran Robert Mylod said Mr. Khosrowshahi was a formidable competitor, noting he is “a great strategic thinker and a no-nonsense leader”.
