Blake Ross, the founder of Firefox and a former Facebook executive, will join Uber to develop product strategy, Uber confirmed on Thursday.
Ross posted on Facebook that he would work with Uber part-time from Los Angeles. He’s been an outspoken Uber-watcher on social media, posting about the company’s self-driving trucks and even suggesting that Salesforce executive Bret Taylor — formerly the chief technology officer at Facebook — should become CEO.
Uber’s actual new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, will start work next week at a company that’s sorely lacking in top executives. The company’s missing senior vice presidents, head of Asia Pacific, chief financial officer and head of finance, as well as key engineers for self-driving cars and product.
The ride-hailing company has plenty of work to do, as it recovers from a legal attack on its self-driving car business, a workplace culture investigation and a high-profile battle between investors and former CEO Travis Kalanick. Competitors like Lyft, meanwhile, have taken advantage of the opportunity.
Ross doesn’t seem that worried.
“I also love to compete,” he wrote.
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Uber snags Firefox founder and former Facebook executive Blake Ross