Dara Khosrowshahi is officially Uber's new CEO (EXPE)

pulse

August 30, 2017 2:56 AM

Dara Khosrowshahi has accepted the position of Uber CEO after he was selected by the company's board on Sunday.

The former Expedia CEO's appointment comes after the embattled Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick was ousted as CEO of the world's most valuable private company in June. Uber has suffered an exodus of its top ranks amid mounting public and legal scandals.

"I am excited to welcome Dara Khosrowshahi as Uber's next CEO," Kalanick said in a statement on Tuesday. "With a deep passion for team building, Dara grew Expedia into one of the world's most successful travel and technology platforms. Casting a vote for the next chief executive of Uber was a big moment for me and I couldn't be happier to pass the torch to such an inspiring leader."

In a memo sent to Uber employees, the company's board called Khosrowshahi "the best person to lead Uber into the future" and said his appointment was also aimed at "improving our culture and making Uber the best place to work."

Expedia couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Khosrowshahi was the dark horse in Uber's chaotic and highly publicized CEO search. HP Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman and former GE CEO Jeff Immelt were the other two candidates considered by the board for the role over the past weekend.

Though Khosrowshahi had indicated he intended to accept the Uber CEO position earlier Tuesday in press interviews, his contract wasn't finalized. His hiring most likely comes with a hefty price tag that could top $200 million thanks to unvested stock options from his previous gig.

Khosrowshahi, 48, has been CEO of Expedia for 12 years, during which he turned it into the biggest online travel agency in the US. An Iranian immigrant who moved to New York as a kid, he started his career at the investment bank Allen & Co. before serving as CFO at the media company IAC.

Now that his new CEO job is official, Khosrowshahi will greet Uber employees at an all-hands meeting at the company's San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday.

You can read Uber's full announcement to employees about Khosrowshahi's hiring below:

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