In a senior level departure from ride-hailing firm Uber, Shweta Rajpal Kohli, Head of Public Policy for India and South Asia has resigned from the company. Her resignation comes just over a year after she joined Uber India in September 2016.
At Uber, Shweta was responsible for handling Uber’s relationships with Policymakers, government regulators, industry bodies and regulators that Uber had to deal with.
She played a key role in Uber’s ride-sharing feature, which required continuous engagement with governments to identify areas to support and strengthen public transportation systems.
Responding to a query from The News Minute, Uber confirmed her resignation. "Shweta has been a great advocate for Uber and the development of ridesharing in India. She has contributed immensely to building our reputation in India, and we wish her every success in the future," an Uber Spokesperson said in a statement.
Shweta was previously a journalist with NDTV, Times Group, Business Standard and Hindustan Times, to name a few.
"It's been a very enriching and fulfilling experience working for a company like Uber that positively impacts so many lives every single day. I'm extremely proud of the team we've built to push forward progressive ridesharing reform measures in one of the fastest growing regions for the company. I'm sure Uber will continue to grow from strength to strength in India and South Asia. I wish the company the very best, as I look forward to my new adventure." Shweta said in a statement.
Uber has not disclosed Shweta’s replacement yet.
Shweta’s resignation comes nearly a month after Uber’s European policy chief quit to join the join electric vehicle charging network company Chargepoint.
A report in Reuters says that Shweta will be joining Salesforce next month.
India is Uber’s second largest market after the US, where it has been in a tough battle with rival Ola. Both companies have been neck-to-neck in competition with nearly equal market share. Interestingly, Uber is currently in final stages of negotiations for a multi-billion dollar investment led by SoftBank, which is Ola’s largest backer as well.