Uber confirms Dara Khosrowshahi as its new CEO

In an earlier report, we stated that “the board of directors of taxi-hailing company, Uber, had chosen Expedia’s Dara Khosrowshahi to be its new CEO.” However we also stated that Uber had not officially announced this appointment and we were not aware that he had accepted the offer.

Now we can confirm that he is now the new CEO as Uber has officially made the announcement.

Below is an email sent to Uber employees from the company’s Board of Directors this evening:

Team,

We are delighted to announce that Uber’s Board has voted unanimously to appoint Dara Khosrowshahi to be our new CEO.

Dara came to America at nine years old when his family escaped Iran on the eve of the Iranian Revolution. He grew up in Tarrytown, N.Y., trained as an engineer at Brown, and spent many years at IAC serving as Chief Financial Officer and in various operational and strategic roles.

In 2005, he became CEO of Expedia, which he built into one of the world’s leading travel and technology companies, now operating in more than 60 countries. He has four children and not surprisingly loves to travel, one of his favorite trips being to the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia where his wife Sydney said yes to marrying him.

We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent and vision. The Board and the Executive Leadership Team are confident that Dara is the best person to lead Uber into the future building world-class products, transforming cities, and adding value to the lives of drivers and riders around the world while continuously improving our culture and making Uber the best place to work.

Dara will be joining us tomorrow, August 30, for an All Hands. Add your questions for Dara here, and stay tuned for a calendar invite with more details. He’ll also be meeting with employees around the world in smaller groups over the next few weeks, and spending time with drivers.

Please join us in welcoming Dara on what promises to be an exciting ride!

-Yasir, Garrett, Matt, Ryan, Arianna, Travis, Wan Ling & David

Techcrunch reports that the previous CEO, Travis Kalanick is in support of the choice of Khosrowshahi. This is a statement for his spokeperson..“I am excited to welcome Dara Khosrowshahi as Uber’s next CEO. With a deep passion for team building, Dara grew Expedia into one of the world’s most successful travel and technology platforms. Casting a vote for the next chief executive of Uber was a big moment for me and I couldn’t be happier to pass the torch to such an inspiring leader.”