Industry insiders say the Expedia CEO is a neutral, capable outsider who can bring discipline to the ride-hailing company’s chaotic corporate culture.
Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has been tapped to be Uber’s new CEO.
Dara Khosrowshahi has his work cut out for him.
But most industry insiders agree that as a highly capable, neutral outsider, he’s a good pick for the job. He’s said to be a hard-nosed businessman with a stellar background in finance, management and leadership. He’s been the CEO of travel site Expedia for the last 12 years and saw the company through several high-profile acquisitions and stock prices that tripled over the last few years. If anyone can turn Uber around, analysts say, it’s Khosrowshahi.
«Khosrowshahi faces a great and surmountable task of righting a ship rife with internal and external challenges, » said Brian Solis, principal analyst for Altimeter Group. «Consider that Uber faces notable annual loses, a culture in dire need of repair, refocus and nurturing, and an evolving competitive landscape, Khosrowshahi appears to have the demeanor, acumen and results to make impressive strides.»
The company, founded in 2009, managed to upend the taxi industry and become the world’s most valuable startup, with a valuation of $68 billion. With its no-apologies attitude and notoriously aggressive CEO, Uber quickly became one of the biggest ride-hailing services on the planet. While this approach helped the company grow, it called into question its long-term sustainability.
«Uber has been a massive disruptor to a traditional industry, but it is facing competitive pressures from outside the company and cultural challenges within the organization, » said Brett Sappington, senior director of research for market research firm Parks Associates. «The key for Uber will be to capitalize on those advantages and build new areas of strength.»
While Uber hasn’t confirmed Khosrowshahi has been tapped for the job, Expedia Chairman Barry Diller has all but said the deal is sealed. In a letter sent to company employees and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which CNET obtained, Diller said Khosrowshahi will likely make the move.
«Dara Khosrowshahi has been asked to lead Uber. Nothing has been yet finalized, but having extensively discussed this with Dara, I believe it is his intention to accept, » Diller wrote. «I know Dara would like to communicate now with all of you but I’ve asked him not to until this is fully resolved.»
Diller also said he regrets that Khosrowshahi will be leaving Expedia but he wishes him well in this «next adventure.»
Khosrowshahi was born in Iran in 1969 and immigrated to the US nine years later. After getting an engineering degree from Brown University in 1991, he worked as an investment banker though the 1990s. Khosrowshahi joined Expedia as CEO in 2005 after seven years at Diller’s IAC, which shortly after spun off the travel site.
In this position, he’s taken the company from a midsize business to a global family of brands. He’s overseen the acquisitions of travel sites Orbitz, Travelocity and HomeAway, and also grew revenue from $2.1 billion in 2005 to $8.7 billion in 2016. He’s also well-liked by his employees. On jobs site Glassdoor, he has a 93 percent approval rating.
«The people who have worked for him have said he’s tough and he’s demanding but he’s fair, » said Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst for Atmosphere Research Group. «He’s definitely not a tech bro, he doesn’t have the same capricious nature as Travis Kalanick.»
«The US may be an ever so slightly less dangerous as a place to live, » he wrote, «but it will certainly be seen as a smaller nation, one that is inward-looking versus forward thinking, reactionary versus visionary.»
Looking at Khosrowshahi’s leadership at Expedia, it appears he values forward-thinking and visionary ideas. What’s to be seen now is if he can bring that same positive workplace culture to Uber.
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