Expedia boss accepts Uber CEO job

By Barry Eitel

SAN FRANCISCO (AA) – Dara Khosrowshashi, currently chief executive of online travel service Expedia, confirmed Tuesday he would accept the CEO position at Uber.

Khosrowshashi announced his intention to take the helm of the San Francisco-based transportation company in interviews with both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Uber’s board of directors unanimously voted Sunday night to hire Khosrowshashi, but he said he could not comment immediately on his acceptance because Expedia is a publicly traded company.

Uber selected Khosrowshashi, who immigrated to the United States from Iran as a child, over General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman.

In comments to the Wall Street Journal, he described the job as a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

For most of 2017, Uber has been roiled in scandals related to executives’ alleged support of the administration of President Donald Trump and charges of rampant sexual harassment at the company’s headquarters. Uber’s embattled co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick left the company in June amid the criticisms launched at Uber.

But Kalanick remains on Uber’s board and owns a controlling amount of the company’s shares. He is currently being sued by another member of Uber’s board, venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Partners, who are accusing him of fraud.

A spokesperson for Kalanick dismissed the claims in a statement, saying the lawsuit was without merit and “riddled with lies,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Khosrowshashi said Kalanick would continue in some form with the company but that their new relationship is still “budding.”

"I think there's mutual respect there,” he added.

Uber is currently the most valuable private company in the world, and many investors hope Khosrowshashi will take it public.

Although Uber has been reducing losses for the past several fiscal quarters, it lost $645 million on revenue of $1.75 billion during the second quarter of this year.

Shares of Expedia dipped Monday following the news of Uber’s job offer to Khosrowshashi but rebounded slightly a day later, closing up about 1 percent at $143.99.