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Uber Chooses Expedia’s Chief as C.E.O., Ending Contentious Search
(about 1 hour later)
SAN FRANCISCO — The search for Uber’s new chief executive may be nearing a conclusion.
SAN FRANCISCO — Uber selected Dara Khosrowshahi, who leads online travel company Expedia, to be chief executive, capping a contentious search process as the ride-hailing company seeks to move past a turbulent period.
Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, on Sunday emerged as the likely candidate to be selected as Uber’s new chief on Sunday, according to two people with knowledge of the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were confidential.
Mr. Khosrowshahi emerged as the leading C.E.O. candidate over a weekend of Uber board meetings with three finalists, according to two people with knowledge of the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were confidential.
The ride-hailing company’s board deliberated through the day, the people said. The situation remains fluid; board members and investors have been feuding over issues including board control.
One finalist, Jeffrey R. Immelt, the former chief of General Electric, withdrew on Sunday when it became clear that he did not enough have support, said two people familiar with the process. The board was leaning toward Meg Whitman, the chief of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the people said. Matters changed over the course of Sunday afternoon and the board decided on Mr. Khosrowshahi.
Uber’s eight-member board met throughout the weekend to decide on a new leader for the company, which has been without a chief executive since the co-founder, Travis Kalanick, stepped down under pressure on June 20. The slate of candidates had narrowed to three people, according to people with knowledge of the process.
Choosing Mr. Khosrowshahi is crucial to returning stability to Uber, the world’s biggest ride-hailing company, which has been without a leader since its co-founder, Travis Kalanick, stepped down from the C.E.O. job under pressure on June 20. Under Mr. Kalanick, Uber changed the transportation landscape by offering people the ability to summon a ride through an app, and the privately held company swelled to a nearly $70 billion colossus.
One of those candidates, Jeffrey R. Immelt, the former chief executive of General Electric, posted on Twitter on Sunday that he had “decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber.” He did not elaborate on why he was pulling out of the race, but the people with knowledge of the process said Mr. Immelt did not have enough board votes to become C.E.O.
But Uber’s prospects became murkier this year when the company was pummeled by scandal after scandal, including sexual harassment accusations in the workplace, a Department of Justice criminal investigation into some of its methods, and an intellectual property dispute with a self-driving car rival. While Uber’s business continued to grow, Mr. Kalanick’s management style faced scrutiny and investors mutinied against him.
Ms. Whitman was one of the other finalists. The identity of the third candidate is unknown.
The search for a new C.E.O. was riven by discord, especially between Mr. Kalanick and Benchmark, a venture capital firm that is a major Uber shareholder and that also has a seat on Uber’s board. Both Mr. Kalanick and Benchmark had their own preferred candidates for a new chief. Benchmark also has sued Mr. Kalanick to try and force him off the board.
Mr. Immelt presented to Uber’s board on Friday, as did the unidentified candidate, said the people with knowledge of the process. Ms. Whitman presented to the board on Saturday.
Uber declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Ms. Whitman.
No matter who gets the job, running Uber will be no easy task. While the ride-hailing colossus is growing and may be on the path to a possible initial public offering, it faces numerous challenges. The company has been trying to reform its workplace culture following accusations of sexual harassment; it still lacks many key executives, including a chief financial officer and a chief operating officer; and it remains entangled in legal imbroglios including an intellectual property dispute with Waymo, Google’s self-driving car spinoff. Uber is also deeply unprofitable.
Ms. Whitman, 61, had previously said more than once that she planned to stay at H.P.E. Last month, after reports surfaced that she was in the running for the Uber job, she posted on Twitter that the talk had become a “distraction” and that she was “fully committed to H.P.E. and plan to remain the company’s C.E.O.” She gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal last week reiterating that there was “a lot of work to be done at H.P.E.”
But while H.P.E.’s growth has been declining, Uber’s growth trajectory is positive. Given some of the questions Uber has faced about diversity, the company’s image could also potentially be improved by a female C.E.O.
Internally, some Uber executives have been baffled at Ms. Whitman’s insistence that she was not a serious contender for the job. Members of Uber’s board have been in close contact with Ms. Whitman over the past 48 hours, said the people familiar with the talks, walking through some terms that would be necessary for her to take the position were it offered to her.
Among the items being considered were what role Mr. Kalanick, who holds a board seat, would play in Uber’s future, the people said. Another point of discussion is the current legal battle over board control between Mr. Kalanick and Benchmark, the venture capital firm and major Uber shareholder that also holds a seat on the company’s board.
