Uber Finds 'Truce Choice' for New CEO

Job will be offered to Expedia's Dara Khosrowshahi
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 28, 2017 1:35 AM CDT
Uber Board Settles on New CEO
Dara Khosrowshahi attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

After weeks of rumors that ousted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's successor would be Meg Whitman, GE's Jeffery Immelt, or even Kalanick himself, the company's board has finally made a decision. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal and the BBC that after Immelt ruled himself out over the weekend, the board decided to offer the job to Dara Khosrowshahi, a 48-year-old Iranian-American who has been Expedia's CEO since 2005. The Journal's sources say that Uber plans to negotiate Khosrowshahi's contract before the company makes an official announcement, but they hope to complete the fast-tracked process within days.

Whitman was supported by major Uber investor Benchmark, but she made demands, including more control of the board, that directors didn't want to meet, sources tell Recode. The insiders say Khosrowshahi was considered the "truce" choice between Benchmark and Kalanick, who is still on the company's board and supported Immelt. If Khosrowshahi takes the job, he will face many challenges—including board infighting, continuing fallout from multiple controversies including sexual harassment scandals, and the fact that the company is still losing staggering amounts of money every quarter—but he is widely seen as a solid choice whose experience could provide much-needed stability, Forbes reports. (More Uber stories.)

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