Dara Khosrowshahi is a Trump critic:10 things you must know about new Uber CEO

Uber has effectively been without a head since Travis Kalanick resigned in June.

Uber chooses Expedia’s head Dara Khosrowshahi as new CEO
CEO of Expedia, Inc Dara Khosrowshahi attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Photo: Reuters
BS Web Team New Delhi
Last Updated : Aug 28 2017 | 11:58 AM IST
Uber has selected the chief executive of Expedia, Dara Khosrowshahi, as its new leader, according to sources familiar with the development. Khosrowshahi, 48, would take on the daunting task of mending Uber's image, rebuilding employee morale and creating a profitable business after seven years of losses. Uber has effectively been without a head since Travis Kalanick resigned in June. In addition to Kalanick, the company has lost multiple executives this year and has numerous holes in its executive team, including for chief financial and operating officers. 

10 things to know about Dara Khosrowshahi

1. Khosrowshahi has been CEO of Expedia for 12 years. Expedia is based in Bellevue, Washington. Under Khosrowshahi's leadership, Expedia more than doubled its annual revenue since 2012 to nearly $8.8 billion in 2016. The company reported net income of $281.8 million for 2016.

2. He led Expedia through a string of acquisitions since 2014, buying Airbnb rival HomeAway Inc for $3.9 billion, Orbitz Worldwide Inc for $1.3 billion and Travelocity for $280 million, cobbling together an online travel empire. Expedia is the world's largest online travel agency by bookings.

3. The Iranian-American businessman came to the United States as a child in 1978 with his parents following the Iranian Revolution. 

4. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Brown University and got his start at investment bank Allen and Co.

5. In 2015 he was the highest paid CEO in the US, mainly because of a nearly $91 million stock option grant. He is also on the board of the New York Times Company and sports merchandise company Fanatics Inc.

6. Khosrowshahi also sits on the board of the New York Times Company.

7. Outspoken critic of Donald Trump: Khosrowshahi blasted Trump's travel ban, which includes Iran, as "inward-looking" and "reactionary." Expedia filed a legal challenge to the ban. On August 16, 2017, Khosrowshahi tweeted, "I keep waiting for the moment when our Prez will rise to the expectations of his office and he fails, repeatedly."

8. Khosrowshahi has a BA in electrical engineering from Brown University in 1991.

9. In June 2013 Ernst & Young recognised Dara Khosrowshahi as a Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year award recipient. He is among the US State Department's "List of Prominent Iranian Americans.

10. He has a reputation as a good leader, according to ratings on Glassdoor, with a 93% approval rating. On Twitter, Khosrowshahi describes himself to be a sci-fiction geek.

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