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Dara Khosrowshahi has been the CEO of Uber since 2017, overseeing operations in more than 70 countries. Before joining Uber, he served as the CEO of Expedia, where he transformed the company into a leading online travel platform. Khosrowshahi has a strong background in engineering and finance, and he has successfully led numerous acquisitions while investing in mobile technology. He is also a passionate advocate for refugees and currently serves on the boards of Expedia and Catalyst.org. Khosrowshahi earned his engineering degree from Brown University and was born in Iran, relocating to the United States during the Iranian Revolution.
Dara Khosrowshahi was born in Tehran, Iran. However, when Dara was very young, his family moved to the United States. Dara graduated with a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Brown University. A solid background in engineering has shaped him into the kind of leader that technology-reliant companies like Expedia and Uber need.
Dara Khosrowshahi has been Uber's CEO since 2017 and has led operations in more than 70 countries. His leadership over the years has shaped Uber's global expansion and focus on innovation, customer satisfaction, and social responsibility. His interest in advocating for refugee rights stems from his experience of leaving Iran during the revolution.
Before Uber, he served as the CEO of Expedia from 2005 to 2017, transforming it into one of the world's biggest online travel companies. During his early career, he worked as the CFO of IAC from 1998 to 2005.
Dara Khosrowshahi leads Uber's AI initiative, focusing on innovation that is efficient, safe, and customer-experience-oriented.
AI Assistant: Uber's AI assistant, powered by OpenAI, helps its drivers smoothly transition into electric vehicles. It has been designed to provide personalized advice, tips, and resources that help deliver the best driver experience. Thus, Uber is committed to sustainability through operational efficiency in urban mobility.
AI Operations: Uber's Scaled Solutions initiative will help businesses scale AI operations by harnessing its global resources. It provides data labeling, AI testing, and product localization services through expert gig workers. The initiative will enhance organizations' AI performance, save them costs, and facilitate timely delivery of market-ready solutions.
NLP and Conversational AI: Uber is embracing NLP and conversational AI to improve the user experience. It is exploiting these technologies to care for its customers, including an in-app reply system that allows driver-partners to easily reply to rider messages to improve effectiveness and communication within the platform.
AI-Powered Self-Driving Cars: Uber is working with the UK-based AI company Wayve on Level 4 self-driving cars for its global fleet. The partnership involves investing in Wayve's technology to advance the use of AI to enable self-driving vehicles to operate beyond geofenced areas, which should speed up the deployment of autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform.
AI Ride Check: Uber introduced new safety features, including AI-powered Ride Check, which detects crashes using drivers' phone sensors. The pick-up and drop-off locations are also anonymized to improve privacy and prevent drivers from getting exact addresses. This enhances both passenger and driver safety.
Dara Khosrowshahi has an estimated net worth of $135 million as of December 2024. He owns 1,266,114 Uber shares worth $93 million, 210,415 Expedia Group shares valued at $39 million, and 125,921 Tripadvisor shares worth $2 million. He also owns shares in Match Group (MTCH). The diversified investments that Khosrowshahi is involved in reflect the various leadership positions he has had within numerous large corporations and the different positions he took within the technology and travel sectors.
Under the leadership of Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has finally reached profitability, which the company never managed to do in its earlier years under the leadership of his predecessor, Travis Kalanick. Khosrowshahi ended the aggressive, loss-heavy growth model pursued by Uber to become more disciplined and sustainable. This happened by implementing cost efficiencies, focusing on core operations, and increasing revenue streams like Uber Eats and freight. Under his strategic direction, this achievement has capped Uber as the leader in the tech and ride-hailing sectors.
Uber controversies span unethical competitive tactics, data privacy concerns, surge pricing, gig worker rights, toxic culture, spying, breaches, and unfair dismissals.
Aggressive Competitive: Dara Khosrowshahi's tenure with Uber has been controversial and reactive, fed by aggressive practices by this company. Uber's obsession with dominating the market has led to unethical tactics against its competitors, regulatory issues, and a toxic corporate culture. Questions of corporate responsibility and the sustainability of the business model have started to emerge.
Data Privacy Controversy: The tie-up of Uber for Affordable Transport by the Indian Air Force raised data privacy controversy in November 2024. Fears about the leakage of sensitive military information have prompted Vice Chief Lt. Gen. Subramani to ask for caution and respectful criticism. Experts say a more stringent protocol for data is necessary to guarantee national security.
Surge Pricing Controversy: Uber faced backlash when its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, justified a $51.69 fare for a 4-km Manhattan ride because of inflation and labor costs. The fare has risen by 83% since 2018, while the inflation rate is much lower. The stock fell 6% despite reporting record $394M Q2 profits as investors continue to voice concerns over its controversial pricing strategy.
Drivers' Rights and Worker Status: Since its founding, Uber has been criticized for not being a company of workers but of freelancers. Courts in the UK, EU, France, and US have fought for worker rights in the cases of minimum wages, pensions, and holiday pay against Uber, which opposed its stance on the rights of gig workers.
Harassment and Toxic Work Culture: Travis Kalanick resigned in 2017 on allegations of toxic working culture, sexual harassment, and discrimination. Probe investigations found 215 incidents of wrongdoing, leading to the termination of 20 employees. A former staff member also filed lawsuits, pointing out that Uber had always disregarded harassment issues and women's rights.
Spying on Rivals: It spied on its competitors with illegal software and claims of data theft. In 2017, it lost intellectual property to Waymo with damages of over $500 million, and it was accused of mismanaging its tests in its autonomous vehicles, which included a fatal accident.
Data Breach Cover-Up: In 2016, an attack exposed data for 57 million riders and drivers. Uber paid hackers $100,000 in Bitcoin to remain quiet. The breach went undercover until CEO Dara Khosrowshahi uncovered the issue in 2017, which led to probes and charges against Uber's former chief of security.
Driver Terminations Without Explanation: Uber in 2021 adopted terms that permitted it to revoke drivers' access to the app without justification. Many veteran drivers were suspended for alleged problems with their documents or reported misbehavior, raising questions about the fairness of Uber's dismissal practices and transparency in its policies.
