Dara Khosrowshahi Appointed As Uber CEO

US based cab aggregator Uber has voted to appoint Expedia’s Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi as its new CEO. He will succeed co-founder Travis Kalanick, who grew Uber into a $20 billion annual booking business last year before he resigned in June amidst several controversies.  

Khosrowshahi name never appeared publically as a finalist when Uber was headhunting a CEO to lead the firm. On August 27, 2017, the Uber board of directors offered him the post, an offer which he has not yet accepted.

Khosrowshahi, 48, the Iranian-American has led Expedia since 2005, through a period of rapid expansion. Khosrowshahi is a graduate of Brown University who previously worked at IAC and Allen & Company. He also sits on the board of the New York Times Company.

Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of the New York Times and chairperson of The New York Times Company praised Khosrowshahi's "comprehensive digital and international experience, as well as significant financial expertise". He is also a board director for BET.com, Hotels.com and several other companies. In June 2013, Ernst & Young recognized him as a Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year award recipient. He is among the U.S. State Department's "List of Prominent Iranian Americans".

Earlier on Sunday, the leading candidate, former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, announced on Twitter that he “decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber.” Immelt added: "I have immense respect for the company & founders - Travis, Garrett and Ryan.

Published reports suggest Immelt did not have the votes necessary to secure his position and that he had become increasingly worried about infighting on the board. Two factions, one led by Kalanick, and one led by early investor Benchmark, are battling in court over control of the company.