Who is Dara Khosrowshahi? | The Iranian immigrant who is now Uber CEO

Ride-hailing service, Uber has been waistdeep in highly publicized controversies ranging from an internal culture of sexual harassment and discrimination, a legal tussle with Google, a severed relationship with drivers and investors and a #DeleteUber movement that stemmed from former CEO and cofounder, Travis Kalanick’s association with US President Donald Trump.

With the bulk of Uber’s troubles being tied to Kalanick, investors intervened by calling on him to step down as CEO and following consultations and pressure, he agreed to resign his position.

On Monday, the company announced that it was offering Kalanick’s job to Dara Khosrowshahi, current CEO of travel company, Expedia. If he accepts the offer (some say he has), he will become the new CEO of Uber and going by reports that are making the rounds, he is able to save the company’s sinking image and restore its financial losses.

Who is Dara Khosrowshahi?

Khosrowshahi is an Iranian-born immigrant whose parents found their way to the US in 1978 following the Iranian revolution. He told Bloomberg’s How Did I Get Here, “Our family escaped Iran on the eve of the Iranian Revolution in 1978, when I was 9. We moved in with my uncle in Tarrytown. For the grown-ups, it was a difficult transition. The kids were able to party together, so it was fun.”

Khosrowshahi grew up in New York with his mother and two brothers after his father was detained for six years by authorities in Iran when he went in search of his own father. He was only 13 at the time.

Dara Khosrowshahi at 9

He graduated from Brown University in Rhode Island, United States in 1991 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. In the same year, he joined investment bank, Allen & Co as an analyst. He worked this job for 7 years before joining USA Networks, America’s leading media and internet company now known as InterActiveCorp/IAC. While at Allen & Co, Khosrowshahi knew of IAC Chairman, Barry Diller as a client and determined to work for him based on the monumental business choices the latter made.

Khosrowshahi rose in ranks at IAC. He went from Vice President for Strategic Planning to President for Interactive and finally became CEO of Expedia, the travel company IAC had just purchased, in 2005. Owing to his brilliance, “Expedia has grown to a $23 billion giant with a presence across the world. Revenue has jumped from $2.1 billion in 2005 to $8.7 billion in 2016”.

Having served as CEO at Expedia for more than a decade, Khosrowshahi is one of the highest paid CEOs in America. According to New York Post, “he earned nearly $95 million in compensation including stock options in 2015”. TIME also wrote that he was the highest paid CEO of a US tech company in 2016 “having enjoyed a 88.1 pay rise”.

Politically, Khosrowshahi has been an active and vocal opposition for President Donald Trump’s policies, especially the travel ban placed on Muslim-majority countries. He wrote in an email to employees at the time the ban was announced, “I believe that with this Executive Order, our President has reverted to the short game. The U.S. may be ever so slightly less dangerous as a place to live, but it will certainly be seen as a smaller nation, one that is inward-looking versus forward thinking, reactionary versus visionary”.

In his response to President Trump’s insensitive and damaging remarks about the recent attacks in Charlottesville, Khosrowshahi tweeted:

The 48-year-old married his wife, Sydney Shapiro on 12 December, 2012 and together, they have four kids. He has been described as “fair and nice” and able to change the fortunes of Uber.

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