Uber has been embroiled in a frantic search for a new CEO ever since its former CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down in June. At long last, on Sunday, Uber chose a new CEO, The New York Times reports. Two anonymous people with inside knowledge of the search told the paper that Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi was offered the position.
After Uber faced accusations of workplace sexism and sexual harassment, it hired several female executives to reform its culture. It also searched for a female CEO, offering Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki spots in the running, people with knowledge of the search told The Washington Post. But woman after woman reportedly passed up the opportunity.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Those who spoke to The New York Times said the final three candidates in the running were Khosrowshahi, former General Electric chief Jeffrey R. Immelt, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise chief Meg Whitman. Whitman, however, has denied that she was ever in the running for the position, tweeting in July, "Normally I do not comment on rumours, but the speculation about my future and Uber has become a distraction. So let me make this as clear as I can. I am fully committed to HPE and plan to remain the company's CEO."
Khosrowshahi and Immelt reportedly gave presentations on Friday, then Whitman did on Saturday. The board initially wanted to pick Whitman, but on Sunday afternoon, the members changed their minds.
Khosrowshahi has been Expedia's CEO since 2005, and before that, he was chief financial officer of Match.com's parent company IAC, Yahoo! Finance reports. The Iranian immigrant made the news earlier this year for getting behind a lawsuit to end Trump's travel ban, Fortune reports.
Uber has not yet publicly offered him the job, and he hasn't yet publicly accepted it.