NEW UBER BOSS MEETS EMPLOYEES

Khosrowshahi vows to fight for company, hints of stock market debut

SAN FRANCISCO

FRESHLY-HIRED Uber chief Dara Khosrowshahi met with employees on Wednesday, promising to fight for the company and hinting a stock market debut is in its future.

Khosrowshahi wore an Uber Tshirt as he was introduced to workers during an “all-hands” gathering at the headquarters, here, according to photos posted online.

Khosrowshahi tweeted a picture of his new Uber employee access badge, and said that it functioned as promised.

While speaking with Uber workers, Khosrowshahi shared his opinion that the private company should go public, hinting that could happen in 18 to 36 months, according to the Wall Street Journal and other United States media.

Uber announced on Tuesday that it hired Expedia boss Khosrowshahi as its new chief executive, hoping that he can steer the ride-sharing service away from the string of controversies it has faced in the past year.

Khosrowshahi is credited with turning Expedia into a global travel services behemoth, winning admiration from employees along the way.

He replaces Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, who was pressured to resign as chief of the leading smartphone-summoned ride service.

Khosrowshahi is known as an experienced top executive, willing to speak his mind and to advocate for women getting equal pay and leadership opportunities.

A possible stock market debut for Uber, the world’s most valuable private company based on funding rounds, has long been a source of speculation.

The Iranian-American has responded to initial public offering questions by expressing the opinion that he would like to see it as late as possible.

Kalanick was the driving force behind Uber, taking a spur-ofmoment idea and turning it into the world’s most valuable venture-funded tech start-up.

Based on how much investors got for their money during recent funding rounds, Uber is valued at some US$68 billion (RM290 billion). Some mutual funds have reportedly marked down their stakes in Uber in a sign that months of scandal were taking a toll on the company’s value. AFP

EPA PIC Some mutual funds have reportedly marked down their stakes in Uber in a sign that months of scandal were taking a toll on the company’s value.