Marissa Mayer, Nikesh Arora among others in the race to become Uber’s new Chief

Uber is looking for an executive that can fix a broken culture, deal with an aggressive predecessor, battle a risky lawsuit and prepare the company for an IPO.
Marissa Mayer, Nikesh Arora among others in the race to become Uber’s new Chief
Marissa Mayer, Nikesh Arora among others in the race to become Uber’s new Chief
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After Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was ousted from the company by its board, Uber is now looking for ‘a seasoned executive to take the top position at a troubled technology start-up. Must be willing to fix a broken culture, deal with an aggressive predecessor, battle a risky lawsuit and prepare the company for an initial public offering.’ Self-starters preferred, it adds.

While it sounds like an extremely challenging position to take on, there are quite a few people wanting to take on the role of Uber’s chief, reports New York Times. The company has received a number of applicant for the spot and Uber’s board has interviewed multiple candidates.

According to the NYT report, for those applicants, the calculus is easy. Despite Uber’s problems, executives see an opportunity to shepherd the company — which operates in more than 80 countries and pulls in billions of dollars each quarter — through the most trying time in its eight-year history.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who’s wired for problem solving and wants to make their mark by turning around the image of the company,” Jason Hanold, managing partner at Hanold Associates, a boutique executive search firm told NYT.

“Yes, they’re inheriting Uber’s entire toxic culture. But they’re also getting thousands of employees who are hungry to change it,” he adds.

So who are the candidates interested in taking the job?

Susan Wojcicki, who leads YouTube, Adam Bain, Twitter’s former chief operating officer; David Cush, a former chief executive at Virgin America; the former Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer; and Thomas Staggs, a former chief operating officer at Disney. However, NYT says that it was unclear what level of interest, if any, these executives had expressed in the Uber job.

And then there are candidates like the former Google sales executive Nikesh Arora, have been quietly advancing themselves for the position.

Although the candidates have been assured that they would have autonomy as chief executive, some of them have reportedly expressed concern over how Uber’s board operates, especially because Kalanick retains a seat.

“Even with all the problems that companies like Uber have, there will always be top candidates who want to go there. These people are problem solvers: The hairier a scenario is, the more they’re attracted to trying to fix it,” Hanold said.

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