Just as Hurricane Harvey was battering Texas and severe tropical storm Pahkar was lashing Hong Kong over the weekend, another kind of storm was being unleashed in the tech and travel industry– the news that Expedia Inc CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had been picked as the candidate to head Uber.
As social media and news feeds got flooded with rumours and speculation, no one though could figure out whether it had really happened or not – the report was that the Expedia chief since 2005 had been picked out of three candidates but there was no confirmation that he had accepted.
Expedia Inc’s headquarters remained silent, a statement responding to WIT’s query yesterday said, “Please note that we do not comment on rumours and speculation.”
One can only imagine the scene yesterday at Expedia Inc’s headquarters and the impact of the news on its 20,000+ employees in more than 30 countries around the world.
This is after all their leader who’s grown Expedia into a truly global business spanning more than 200 travel booking sites in over 75 countries and 150+ mobile websites in nearly 70 countries and 35 languages and declared that it would become the first $100 billion travel company in the world – from the current $70 billion.
A message from chairman Barry Diller sent to employees and filed yesterday with the SEC said, “As you probably know by now, Dara Khosrowshahi has been asked to lead Uber. Nothing has yet been finalised, but having extensively discussed this with Dara I believe it is his intention to accept.
“I also know the struggle he has been having out of both his abiding enthusiasm for Expedia’s future as well as his loyalty to all of us. I know Dara would like to communicate with all of you but I’ve asked him not to until this is fully resolved. If Dara does leave us, it will be to my great regret but also my blessing – he’s devoted 12 great years to building this Company and if this is what he wants for his next adventure it will be with my best wishes.
“I say that because he deserves nothing less and I say that also because he will leave behind a tremendously talented corps of executives.”
Beyond his business smarts and vision, his team will miss his humanity and common touch. This is a leader who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty to get the job done, who listens to his staff and who remembers moments of humility.
Dara Khosrowshahi going local in Singapore with his global head based in Asia, Greg Schulze
In his most recent interview with WIT, he recalled a moment when he had just joined Expedia in August 2005 and met the founders who kept talking about how they wanted to change the world, a sentiment he said he didn’t get, coming as he did from a finance background.
“I was 18 months into the job and I was very focused on the ground, making decisions. I remember a young product manager – Jenne Pierce – coming to me and saying, ‘Dara, I really like you but all you are doing is telling us what to do. So when you are not in the room, we don’t know what to do. Why don’t you tell us where to go?’”
That moment made him realise he needed to get out of the minutiae of the day and think of the bigger picture.
During his tenure, he has clearly been focused on the big picture – growing the Expedia family to include meta-search (Trivago) and moving into private accommodation with the acquisition of HomeAway. He’s taken big bets on technology, investing $1.2 billion into building a platform that transforms Expedia from a distribution partner to a technology partner for its customers.
His belief that online travel is a “game of inches” and you have to play the long game is one that will stand Uber in good stead. In the interview in March, he said, “We are a company which seeks continued improvement in our business – a foot and a yard but we will take an inch. We are relentless about searching for a product that’s a little better than yesterday to build a business that can move mountains.”
Imagine the mountains he can move now with Uber, the most valuable privately-held company in the US, a business that has changed the lives of commuters around the world and that truly has the potential to affect billions of people if it’s properly run.
Imagine what he could do with Uber in travel, given his experience in the industry and what I am most excited about, imagine what he could do in Asia, a region he has turned Expedia’s sights on to build the next level of growth.
He’s one of those rare American leaders who makes frequent visits to the region so that he can truly understand the region and he placed one of his global heads, Greg Schulze, in the region more than a year ago. Under Khosrowshahi’s charge, Expedia opened an Innovation Lab in Singapore, its first in Asia and third in the world. He’s excited about the innovation coming from Asia especially in the area of messaging platforms. “I think as an American company, if we are thinking of these factors on a part-time basis, we are not going to be part of the innovation.”
With his leadership team in Asia – imagine what he could do with Uber in this region
That’s not saying he’s not made mistakes – Expedia’s failure in China or a slower-than-desired start in Asia until it signed the joint venture with Air Asia – but mistakes are what you learn from and Khosrowshahi is a man who learns from them. In Asia, he will have a tough fight on his hands, competing with Grab, but Khosrowshahi is a man who believes in localisation. Expedia’s investment in Indonesia’s leading OTA Traveloka recently is testament to that fact.
Imagine too the respectability and social responsibility he could imbue Uber with. At Expedia, he stood up against President Donald Trump’s executive order on Muslim travellers and Expedia started talking about how travel makes for a better world at a time of divisiveness in the country. He’s an advocate of supporting smaller companies in travel and diversity in not only workforce but travel experiences. He is said to have pledged half of his bonus if Expedia were to meet its gender targets.
He’s also a man who doesn’t like to be too comfortable, believing, “comfort doesn’t result in brilliance. It’s a reason why the young tortured artists create the greatest types of art.”
After 12 years at Expedia’s helm, it looks like this Iranian-born executive who’s won the respect of travel industry folks around the world is ready to paint his greatest work of art yet – transforming a company that transformed transportation to one of global greatness and respectability.
It’s like finally having a grown-up at the steering wheel.
As for Expedia, clearly he will be missed by his team but Khosrowshahi has made no bones about the fact that he’s been grooming his leaders for succession. As Diller said, he leaves behind an extremely talented corp of executives and anyone who’s ever met the company’s leadership team will know that. Insiders have pointed to Mark Okerstrom, executive vice president and chief financial officer, as the next leader. There is no doubt that should he leave, he leaves Expedia in good hands and in good shape – and that’s all any good leader can ask for.
