Remarks

Uber’s Problems Go Way Beyond Its CEO

Dara Khosrowshahi seems eminently qualified for the big chair. He'll have to answer some tough questions.

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By Max Chafkin

August 29, 2017 at 3:34 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Is this the beginning of a new Uber? On Sunday, the ride-hailing startup decided on a new chief executive officer. His name is Dara Khosrowshahi, and he’s known for turning around Expedia Inc., the online travel agent. Khosrowshahi is also the only Uber CEO candidate whose name nobody on the company’s sieve-like board of directors bothered to leak, amid weeks of uncertainty about the company’s future.

Uber’s board—which, because this is Uber, is currently suing itself—has reportedly broken into two factions. The traditional investor types, led by the venture capital firm Benchmark, preferred Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. Those close to recently deposed Uber CEO Travis Kalanick had been pushing for Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of General Electric Co.