Uber’s new CEO pick, Dara Khosrowshahi, is not a household name, unlike other candidates who were on the shortlist, including Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman.
But Khosrowshahi has C-suite chops: He’s been CEO of travel website Expedia since 2005, leading the company though brand expansions including Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Hotwire.
Now, Uber reportedly wants him to right the ride-sharing ship, replacing controversial co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick who left the company in June. In the top spot, Khosrowshahi will have a litany of issues to deal with, including a broken workplace culture, a legal battle with Google parent company Alphabet — and more.
What’s clear is the Iranian American business leader will have a challenge ahead of him. What’s less well known to most is what Khosrowshahi is like as person and as a leader.
A dig back through his Twitter posts shines some light.
Very lucky to have my #mom and my wife in my life – wouldnt be here without them –
“My wife and I got married on 12/12/12 in Las Vegas, and she was wearing a Slayer T-shirt. That tells you what kind of woman I’m lucky enough to be with. We have four kids,” he says of his wife in the linked Bloomberg article.
On the day after President Donald Trump was elected, Khosrowshahi posted this.
“I emigrated here when I was 9 years old; my family had to flee Iran,” Khosrowshahi told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on “Mad Money” earlier this year. “And we were very, very lucky to come to America and have the opportunities presented to us, and that’s one of the things that makes America great. The power of immigration, the American dream — if you think about the power of the American dream — it is the best brand out there. It’s stronger than Apple, and Microsoft and Google combined, times 10x.”
On the day that the Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the right to marry, Khosrowshahi expressed his support for the decision.
Khosrowshahi posted this after he was named a highest rated CEO.
Drafting our all company quarterly email. Finally got a proofreader.
And this while working remotely.
“When I think about how I hire, the answer is easy: I hire travelers. Not just because [Expedia is] a travel company, but because travel teaches you and transforms you in tremendous ways that translate into smarter leaders and more passionate employees,” he writes in his post on LinkedIn.
See also:
Why Elon Musk encourages his employees to tell him exactly what he’s doing wrong
The psychological trick that motivates Mark Cuban and Elon Musk to succeed
Wharton’s No. 1 professor: ‘Never give up is bad advice. Sometimes quitting is a virtue.’
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Source: Tech CNBC
What Uber's new CEO pick is like as a leader (in 10 tweets)