Overcoming the odds in life is more than a test. Dara Khosrowshahi is one such individual whose journey to fame and prosperity was imbued with challenges . Born in Iran, his family moved to the United States after his father was detained by Iranian authorities for six years. Having served as the CEO of Expedia and as the current CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi presents a lot on the plate when it comes to experience and managing top brands.
Quick Facts
| Name | Dara Khosrowshahi |
|---|---|
| Born | May 28, 1969 - Tehran, Iran |
| Age | 51 |
| Education | Hackley School, Brown University (BS) |
| Occupation | CEO of Uber |
| Net worth | $200 million |
| Base Salary | $6.7 million per annum |
Dara Khosrowshahi's Education
An exceptional student, he was blessed with razor sharp focus and concentration. With a degree in electrical engineering from Brown University and the experience gained as an analyst at Allan and Co., an investment firm, Dara was about to embark on a stellar career path. In 1998, he left Allan and Co. to work for one of his clients called Barry Diller. Barry owned USA Networks. Khosrowshahi was given the role of senior vice president and later on was made the president for strategic planning of USA Networks. He was then the CFO of IAC, the company that acquired USA Networks.
The Khosrowshahi family founded the Alborz Investment Company, which deals with food, trading, distribution and multiple services. Before the disruption caused by the Iranian Revolution, Dara Khosrowshahi was all set to join his family business. But, destiny had set other plans for the young man. His dad had to return to Iran to look after the crumbling family venture, and was stranded in the war-torn country for six years. The absence of his father brought the changed Dara, serving as a to perform excellently at school.
Expedia Stint
Expedia is a travel technology company that owns a website on travel fare aggregation. Some famous assets of Expedia are trivago, hotels.com, and hotwire.com. Initially, Expedia was a division of Microsoft but branched out in 1996. It was acquired by IAC in 2003. Thereafter, Dara Khosrowshahi took over the charge of the company, and the company scaled new heights under him. Under his leadership, Expedia extended its network to more than 60 countries.
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Dara Khosrowshahi's Net Worth
Dara Khosrowshahi net worth is $200 million and a base salary is $6.7 million USD, Dara is one of the highest-paid CEOs in the world. He took over as the CEO of Uber in 2017; this acquisition made headlines around the world as Uber had offered a whopping 200 million USD to bring him in. He consistently rose above the ranks, winning the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award for the Pacific and Northwest Region in the 2013 edition of Ernst and Young awards. A regular member of the list of ‘Prominent Iranian Americans’ since 2015, his qualities and hardships have put him in rarefied air. When at Expedia, the board was so delighted with Dara’s performance that they decided to award him a 91 million USD stock grant along with 4 million USD salary in 2015. This made him the highest-paid executive at that time. Under his leadership, Expedia has become the largest travel agency in the United States. There was a significant rise in revenue as it grew from 2.1 billion USD in 2005 to 8.7 billion in the year 2016.
Perspective And Personality
A workaholic, Dara Khosrowshahi is known for his friendly, calm, and drama free demeanor, and has been awarded a 94% approval vote by his employees at Expedia. An outspoken critic of the president of the United States, Dara has opposed the immigration ban implemented by the president. Right after taking up the role of the C.E.O. at Uber, he was quick to calm down critics triggered by the acts of former C.E.O. Travis Kalanick. He always emphasizes accountability and transparency. The fact that he asked for complete engagement with his new team at Uber shows his willingness to take Uber to the next level. He changed some of the ideologies Kalanick promoted; the “toe stepping” and “always be hustling“ characteristics were replaced by “we celebrate differences” and “we preserve”. He actively promotes Uber—visiting different continents and setting up an intellectual property lawsuit against Waymo, Google’s self-driving unit. He has brought up the possibility of merging Waymo’s tech with Google’s services. To help the taxi drivers whose sales have dipped due to Uber’s presence, Dara has assured that a part of money obtained from each Uber trip would go to a ‘hardship fund’ meant for such taxi drivers.
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Dara has been one of the most favored executives in recent times. His leadership has guided brands to supremacy. His work ethics drew the attention of companies like Uber who requested him to lead them in tough times. Dara Khosrowshahi is the silver-lining in the dark clouds that loomed over Uber in recent years. He is known to come up with and encourage diverse strategies to pump up profitability and influence. An avid critic of anti-immigrant policies, he is an inspiration for immigrants who wish to make it big on foreign land.
Link : https://startuptalky.com/dara-khosrowshahi-uber/
Author :- Rishabh Rathi
June 06, 2020 at 11:50AM
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