Uber announced on August 29, 2017, that Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi would succeed Travis Kalanick. The decision put an experienced online-platform operator in charge of a company facing a leadership and culture crisis. It was a historical announcement, not breaking news: as of August 18, 2026, Uber still lists Khosrowshahi as its CEO.
What happened in August 2017?
Uber’s board selected Khosrowshahi after Kalanick resigned as chief executive in June 2017. The announcement went to employees in a message from the board; Kalanick publicly welcomed the choice. Contemporary reporting said Khosrowshahi was expected to start the following Tuesday. GeekWire’s August 29, 2017 report captured the decision as it was announced.
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The succession was not a routine handoff. Uber had spent months under scrutiny over workplace culture and management, amid executive departures, regulatory pressure and legal disputes. Contemporary accounts also described the company as short of several senior leaders, including a chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief marketing officer. These were allegations, investigations and unresolved disputes—not proof that every claim had been adjudicated.
Why Uber needed a different kind of CEO
Kalanick’s departure left Uber with a challenge that went beyond filling the top job. The company needed to restore confidence among employees and outside stakeholders while keeping a fast-growing platform operating across markets with different rules. It also faced questions about executive accountability, recruiting and retention, its approach to autonomous vehicles, losses, and plans to reach the public markets.
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The board’s reported search included high-profile executives such as Meg Whitman, then CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and former General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt. Khosrowshahi was a less obvious pick than a transportation or Silicon Valley insider. Contemporary coverage portrayed him as comparatively calm and conciliatory; that was a characterization of his perceived style, not a measurable guarantee that he could repair Uber’s culture. Accounts of the search were based partly on reporting about the process, not a complete official record.
What Khosrowshahi brought from Expedia
Khosrowshahi became Expedia’s CEO in 2005 and led the company for about 12 years. During his tenure, Expedia expanded into a larger online-travel platform with a portfolio of brands. Acquisitions cited in contemporary coverage included Travelocity, Trivago, Orbitz and HomeAway; Expedia bought HomeAway for $3.9 billion, according to that report. The record belongs to the company and its leadership team over time, not to one executive alone.
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GeekWire reported Expedia revenue of $6.7 billion in 2015 and $8.7 billion in 2016, and second-quarter 2017 revenue of $2.6 billion, up 18% year over year. Those are figures reported at the time, not current Expedia results. Uber’s official biography describes his background in engineering and finance and credits his Expedia leadership with expanding the company through acquisitions and investment in mobile.
Expedia and Uber were both technology-enabled platforms, but their operating challenges were not interchangeable. Expedia connected travelers with travel inventory and brands; Uber had to coordinate riders, drivers, cities and regulators, with mobility and public-safety concerns more directly in view. The appointment therefore tested whether Khosrowshahi’s experience managing a complex marketplace and organization could transfer to a different industry.
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What the appointment asked him to take on
- Culture and governance: rebuild employee trust, respond to allegations of harassment and discrimination, clarify accountability, and manage the founder’s continuing influence.
- Management and execution: stabilize the leadership team, retain key employees and maintain confidence among riders, drivers and the public.
- Legal and regulatory exposure: navigate lawsuits, investigations, disputes involving autonomous-driving technology and the company’s relationships with cities and regulators.
- Strategy and finances: weigh investment in autonomous vehicles and growth against losses and operational discipline, while preparing the company for the possibility of a public offering.
Uber’s cultural credibility and commercial goals were connected: trust affected the company’s ability to recruit, work with partners and regulators, and pursue its plans. Selecting a seasoned platform executive signaled a preference for broad operating experience over direct ridesharing experience, but did not establish that the problems were solved.
What Khosrowshahi said when he arrived
Contemporary reporting on his first all-hands meeting described an emphasis on transparency and authenticity, and on the need for Uber to change. He reportedly said that the practices that had built the company would not necessarily take it through its next stage. He also discussed a possible initial public offering within roughly 18 to 36 months. Those remarks described early intentions and expectations, not a guaranteed timetable or outcome.
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He reportedly told Expedia employees that he was scared but optimistic about the move and called it one of the toughest decisions of his life. Leaving a company he had led for years made the transition consequential for both organizations: Uber gained a CEO, while Expedia faced a leadership vacancy.
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Kalanick publicly welcomed Khosrowshahi, but the governance challenge was larger than a public endorsement: it included defining how much influence a former founder and CEO would retain. The 2017 succession unfolded while Uber was trying to establish clearer leadership and accountability after Kalanick’s resignation. A new chief executive could reset the organization only if authority and responsibilities were workable in practice.
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What Expedia faced after his departure
Khosrowshahi’s move also left Expedia needing a new chief executive. Chairman Barry Diller praised the company’s internal executive bench at the time and appeared to indicate that an internal successor might be considered. That was not, by itself, a confirmed succession plan.
How the appointment looks in hindsight
Uber’s current leadership profile says Khosrowshahi has managed the company since 2017 and continues to list him as CEO. Its governance page also lists him as CEO and a board member. That long tenure makes the appointment an enduring succession, not a short-term crisis appointment. Uber’s biography says he continued to serve on Expedia’s board as well.
The evidence supports a measured conclusion: Uber chose a longtime platform-company chief with acquisition and organizational experience to lead through a governance and culture crisis, despite his lack of a transportation background. The choice explains what the board appeared to value; it does not prove that one appointment alone resolved Uber’s problems.
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