Dara Delivers On His UBER Promise – C-Suite Transitions

Dara Khosrowshahi took on the top job as CEO at Uber (UBER) in 2017 when the company was going through a crisis of confidence and pressure from investors led to the resignation of its CEO and founder Travis Kalanick.  Mr. Khosrowshahi who had spent the prior 12 years building Expedia (EXPE) into a travel juggernaut took Uber public in May 2019 at $45 per share.

In our article, Insider Weekends: Dara Khosrowshahi’s $9 Million Purchase Of Uber published in 2021 we mentioned:

The company has continued to lose money but it was able to offset some of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through other lines of business like Uber Eats, delivery of packages, and the ability to rent cars. Uber has been on my mind recently after I heard from several friends that Uber rides are costing more these days but people are still using them because they have grown used to the convenience and reliability of Uber. It looks like under Dara, Uber might finally use its scale and network effects to build a diverse line of counter-cyclical businesses that would one day lead to profitability.

It may take some more time before Uber finally becomes cash flow positive but the company appears to be headed in the right direction. 

During the technology downturn of 2022, Mr. Khosrowshahi received the message loud and clear from investors that they were now focused on bottom line profitability and growth at all costs was no longer the focus. He committed to making Uber profitable and worked with CFO Nelson Chai to fulfill this promise. Mr. Khosrowshahi started the Q2 2023 earnings call stating:

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