Uber's new CEO promises change to culture and board, signals IPO plans

Expedia CEO Dara Khosrashahi has reportedly been offered the top job at Uber, though it's currently unclear if he has accepted the offer. The Iranian-American businessman took the helm of travel site Expedia in August of 2005. Newslook

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber started a new ride Wednesday, as incoming CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took over from co-founder Travis Kalanick at an all-hands headquarters meeting.

In audio leaked to Yahoo, a subdued Kalanick can be heard haltingly reciting Khosrowshahi's resume — born in Tehran, emigrated to New York's Westchester County at age 9, educated at Brown University, star at Expedia.

"So Uber’s next chapter begins today," Kalanick says. "And we have an inspiring leader take us there. His name is Dara. Let’s clap."

While Expedia's outgoing CEO pledged to maintain the corporate drive for which Uber, often controversially, became known, the 48-year-old also vowed to address the toxic cultural issues that rocked the company this year.

"This company has to change," Khosrowshahi said, according to a tweet posted by Uber's communications team. "What got us here is not what’s going to get us to the next level."

.@dkhos: "This company has to change. What got us here is not what’s going to get us to the next level."

— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) August 30, 2017

Khosrowshahi, who addressed staffers in conversation with Uber board member and Kalanick supporter Arianna Huffington, added that the company's legacy of sexism and aggressiveness as outlined in Susan Fowler's explosive February blog post had to be changed at a grass roots level.

"If culture is pushed top down, then people don't believe in it," he said, according to an Uber tweet. "Culture is written bottoms up."

Another tweet indicated that Khosrowshahi wants to bring in a chairman who can serve as his "partner at the board level." Uber's myriad issues include recent board infighting that affected the CEO search.

Uber investor Benchmark Capital, which has a seat on the board, is suing Kalanick for mismanagement. On Wednesday, a judge ruled in Kalanick's favor that the dispute needs to be resolved through arbitration and not a trial. 

 

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