Dara Khosrowshahi
CEO, Uber- Dara Khosrowshahi’s family emigrated from Iran to the United States during the Iranian revolution in 1978 when he was just nine years old
- He did his schooling from the US and enrolled at Brown University from where he completed his Bachelor of Science(BS) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Khosrowshahi’s first job was with Allen & Company where he served as Vice-President and also worked as an analyst. After 7 years in the investment bank, he stepped down to join IAC as CFO during the dot-com boom
- IAC acquired Expedia in 2002 and Khosrowshahi was promoted as the CEO of the travel firm in 2005. Under him, , Expedia went on an acquisition spree buying firms like Orbitz and HomeAway and invested heavily in mobile
- In total he clocked 41 deals amounting to $12.7 billion and grew the company's revenue to $10.1 billion from $2.1 billion. During his tenure, Expedia shares rose sharply
- Within a span of a few years, Khosrowshahi transformed Expedia into one of the world’s most successful travel and technology platforms. He not only transformed Expedia into a large travel company but also took care of employees; as a result, he was named one of the Highest Rated American CEOs on Glassdoor
- After over a decade in Expedia, he was appointed as CEO of ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies in 2017 beating candidates like Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric and Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard Enterprises. He is also on the board of Uber
- In Uber, Khosrowshahi had to deal with a wave of major scandals but undertook bold steps like cutting costs, slashing jobs and exiting from unprofitable businesses to transform the San Francisco based cab-hailing app. He also guided Uber in acquiring Jump, a start-up renting electric bicycles and the Middle East-based ride-hailing firm Careem
- Khosrowshahi helped Uber raise $8.1 billion in an IPO in 2019, which was a watershed moment for the ride-hailing company. His ambition is to make Uber an Amazon of mobility
Before you go ...
- In an interview to ET in 2018, Khosrowshahi said Narendra Modi was his favourite entrepreneur
- He is one of the most outspoken CEOs of the technology world and has been vocal against some of the policies of Donald Trump. He voiced his displeasure particularly on Trump's policy on immigration
- He loves trekking in the mountains and loves cable TV
Dara Khosrowshahi News
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasized India's crucial role for Uber, ranking third in mobility trips with significant driver growth. He highlighted Ola's decline due to distractions, positioning Rapido as a key competitor with its subscription model, while Uber remains focused on its core mobility business and profitability in the Indian market.
The company has been offering robotaxis from Alphabet-owned Waymo on its ride-hailing app in Austin and Atlanta. It also struck a $300 million partnership in July that will allow it to deploy more than 20,000 vehicles.
Bill Gates recently joined the customer service team at Phia, a fashion-tech startup co-founded by his daughter Phoebe Gates and her Stanford classmate Sophia Kianni. In a LinkedIn post, he explained that working directly with users is the best way to understand how things function. The move has triggered wider conversations about leadership, echoing similar actions by other CEOs like Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi. While Gates chose not to fund the startup, he continues to support his daughter in other ways.
Uber is reportedly in discussions with its co-founder Travis Kalanick to potentially fund his acquisition of Pony.ai's U.S. subsidiary, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company. This move signals Uber's increasing concern over competition from self-driving taxi services like Waymo and Tesla. Kalanick would lead Pony if the deal materializes, marking a significant shift in Uber's strategy towards autonomous vehicles.
Uber has appointed Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora to its board, where he will serve on the Nominating and Governance and Compensation Committees. Arora, with a strong background at Google and SoftBank, brings extensive experience in technology and business strategy. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's CEO, expressed excitement about Arora's contributions to the company's long-term strategy.
Pradeep Parameswaran, former Uber India head, has been promoted to global head of mobility amid a leadership shake-up. He replaces Andrew Macdonald, now COO. This marks Parameswaran’s second promotion in a year. Uber continues to elevate Indian-origin executives, with key roles held by Sachin Kansal and Praveen Naga in tech leadership since October 2024.
Uber is reinforcing its return-to-office mandate, requiring employees to be present at least three days a week starting in June. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledges that these changes, along with adjustments to benefits like sabbatical eligibility, may not suit everyone. He suggests that those unhappy with the new policies are free to seek opportunities elsewhere, given the strong job market.
The changes have come in response to a campaign by conservative activists to target workplace programs in the courts and social media, and more recently, President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at upending DEI policies in both the federal government and private sector.
This decision implies that in American cities such as Austin, Uber and Alphabet-backed self-driving technology company Waymo will be competing with Tesla when it launches its autonomous service. However, Tesla has not officially confirmed its plans.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says no one wants to compete with Elon Musk’s Tesla, calling its capabilities extraordinary. He sees a Tesla-Uber partnership as a win-win.
