Washington DC: Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi has been chosen to replace ousted Travis Kalanick as the next CEO at Uber, The New York Times has reported, as the ride-hailing giant looks to move past a rough patch.
Khosrowshahi emerged as the leader among three finalists for the job during company board meetings over the weekend, the Times reported on Sunday, citing two people familiar with the decision.
Uber spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise chief Meg Whitman had been seen as the favorite, according to several media outlets, but the Times said the situation changed on Sunday in the 48-year-old Tehran-born Khosrowshahi's favor.
Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt, whose name was on the shortlist, on Sunday removed himself from the running for the top job.
"I have decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber," Immelt said on Twitter, without explaining his reasons.
"I have immense respect for the company & founders."
The Wall Street Journal reported that Immelt had opted not to pursue the CEO post after "observing disorder and divisions among different factions of Uber's board," according to an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
Other sources close to the search process said the 61- year-old Immelt – who left General Electric on August 1 after 16 years at the helm – did not have the votes to win and thus "saved face" by publicly bowing out, the newspaper said.
Uber has been without a boss since June when Kalanick resigned, yielding to pressure from investors seeking to clean up a toxic corporate culture at the fast-growing company he created in 2009.
The San Francisco-based firm has been roiled by disturbing reports of a cutthroat workplace culture, harassment, discrimination and questionable business tactics to thwart rivals. The pressure mounted earlier this month when early Uber investor Benchmark Capital filed suit against Kalanick, accusing him of fraud, breach of contract and of plotting to manipulate the board of directors to allow him to return as CEO.
Kalanick fired back, claiming that Benchmark "began secretly planning an effort to oust him" and "executed its plan at the most shameful of times" following the death of his mother in a May accident.
Uber has not only disrupted the local transport industry in dozens of countries. It's also been investing in autonomous driving technology, and has provoked a lawsuit from the former Google car unit now called Waymo that accused Uber of stealing trade secrets.
Uber adds multi-destination, in-app chat feature in India
New Delhi: Cab aggregator Uber on Monday said it has rolled out two new features – 'in-app chat' and 'multi- destination' – to improve experience for its riders in India. Using the in-app chat feature, riders can provide information like their exact location without incurring any call charges. It will also be available for 'Pool' riders. Also, both riders and driver partners will be able to see if their chats were delivered and read, helping confirm the receipt of communication, Uber said in a statement. "This features also means that regardless of where they are located across the globe, riders and drivers won't have to share their phone number with one another should they have to get in touch," it added. The multi-destination feature will enable riders to add multiple stops along their route, it said, adding that the same can be used while booking the trip.