Dara Khosrowshahi Biography
Dara Khosrowshahi is an Iranian-American business executive best known as the chief executive officer of Uber Technologies. He has led Uber since 2017, taking over the company during a difficult period and helping transform it from a heavily criticized ride-hailing startup into a broader global technology and transportation company.
Under Khosrowshahi, Uber expanded beyond traditional ride-hailing into food delivery, freight, advertising, financial services and partnerships involving autonomous vehicles. His tenure has also included major challenges, including regulatory disputes, profitability pressures, workforce changes and the growing competition surrounding self-driving transportation.
In September 2026, Khosrowshahi again became a major business-news figure after Uber announced plans to cut approximately 3,300 jobs as part of a major organizational restructuring. The company also said it was simplifying its management structure and redirecting resources toward its largest growth opportunities.
Early Life and Family Background
Dara Khosrowshahi was born on May 28, 1969, in Tehran, Iran. He grew up in a prominent Iranian family whose business interests gave him a privileged childhood before political events dramatically changed the direction of his life.
The Iranian Revolution forced his family to leave the country when he was still a child. Khosrowshahi has spoken publicly about how the experience shaped his outlook on immigration, opportunity and rebuilding a life in a new country.
His family eventually settled in the United States, where he continued his education and began building a career in finance and technology.
His experience as an immigrant later became an important part of his public identity. He has spoken about the importance of immigration and has advocated for refugees and immigrants facing difficult circumstances.
Education
Khosrowshahi attended Brown University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Although his university education was rooted in engineering, his professional career moved toward finance, investment banking, technology and eventually corporate leadership.
After graduating, he began his career at Allen & Company, an investment banking firm. The experience exposed him to major corporate transactions and helped establish the financial and analytical background that would later influence his approach to running technology companies.
Career Before Uber
Before joining Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi had already built a substantial career in the technology and travel industries.
A major turning point came when he joined the corporate group associated with businessman Barry Diller. Khosrowshahi eventually became an important executive within the IAC organization.
His career progressed through several leadership roles before he became chief executive of Expedia, the online travel company.
Khosrowshahi became Expedia’s CEO in 2005. During his leadership, the company expanded internationally and developed a broad portfolio of travel businesses.
His work at Expedia gave him experience managing a large technology platform operating across different markets. That background later became one of the reasons Uber’s board considered him a strong candidate to replace former CEO Travis Kalanick.
Becoming Uber CEO
In August 2017, Uber selected Dara Khosrowshahi as its new chief executive.
His appointment came during one of the most turbulent periods in Uber’s history. The company was dealing with controversies involving its corporate culture, regulatory battles, leadership problems and questions about its long-term business model.
Khosrowshahi entered the company with a reputation for being a relatively steady corporate leader. His task was not simply to expand Uber but also to rebuild confidence among employees, investors, regulators and the public.
Uber’s official biography says Khosrowshahi has managed the company’s business across more than 70 countries since becoming CEO in 2017.
Rebuilding Uber’s Corporate Culture
One of Khosrowshahi’s earliest priorities was changing the internal culture of Uber.
The company had become associated with aggressive expansion and a highly confrontational management style under its previous leadership. Khosrowshahi sought to establish a more conventional corporate environment while maintaining the speed expected from a technology company.
Safety also became a major focus.
Uber introduced and expanded safety features, improved its relationships with regulators and attempted to rebuild its reputation with drivers and passengers.
Khosrowshahi also placed greater emphasis on profitability and sustainable growth rather than expansion at any cost.
Uber’s Expansion Under Khosrowshahi
During his tenure, Uber developed into more than a ride-hailing company.
Uber Eats became a major part of the business, allowing the company to compete in food delivery. Uber Freight expanded its presence in logistics, while the company also developed advertising and other services around its platform.
Khosrowshahi also pushed Uber toward autonomous transportation.
Rather than attempting to develop every autonomous-driving technology entirely within Uber, the company increasingly pursued partnerships with specialized autonomous vehicle companies.
This strategy has become increasingly important as Uber prepares for a future in which autonomous vehicles could significantly change the economics of ride-hailing.
Uber and Autonomous Vehicles
Autonomous transportation has become one of the biggest strategic issues of Khosrowshahi’s leadership.
Uber has entered partnerships with companies developing self-driving technology, allowing it to participate in the autonomous vehicle market without having to build every part of the technology itself.
The strategy is particularly important because autonomous vehicles could reduce some of the largest costs associated with traditional ride-hailing.
Khosrowshahi has increasingly described Uber’s future as one that will combine human drivers with autonomous vehicles.
That transition is one of the central challenges facing the company as competitors such as Waymo expand their autonomous ride services.
Uber’s Public Market Journey
Uber became a publicly traded company in 2019, giving investors a new way to participate in the company’s growth.
Khosrowshahi had to balance the expectations of public-market investors with Uber’s need to continue investing in technology and expansion.
Over time, the company placed greater emphasis on profitability, cash generation and disciplined spending.
That shift became particularly important after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted transportation and travel.
COVID-19 and the Transformation of Uber
The pandemic created an enormous challenge for Uber.
When people stopped traveling and commuting, traditional ride-hailing demand fell sharply. At the same time, demand for food delivery increased as restaurants and consumers adapted to lockdowns and restrictions.
Uber Eats therefore became increasingly important to the company’s overall business.
The experience demonstrated the value of Uber’s broader platform and reinforced Khosrowshahi’s strategy of building a company that was not dependent on one service.
Leadership Style
Khosrowshahi’s leadership style is generally associated with a more measured approach than the aggressive style that characterized Uber’s early years.
He has focused on profitability, corporate discipline, partnerships and long-term strategic positioning.
At the same time, his leadership has not been without controversy.
In 2019, he faced criticism after comparing the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the fatal accident involving an Uber autonomous vehicle. Khosrowshahi later acknowledged that the comparison was wrong and apologized.
The incident became one of the more widely discussed controversies of his time as Uber CEO.
September 2026 Uber Restructuring
One of the biggest recent developments involving Khosrowshahi came in September 2026.
Uber announced that it would eliminate approximately 3,300 jobs, representing about 10 percent of its global workforce. The company said the restructuring was intended to simplify management, remove organizational layers and focus employees and investment on its biggest opportunities.
Khosrowshahi explained that the changes were connected to Uber’s effort to become a simpler and faster organization.
The restructuring included changes to engineering, science and delivery operations. Uber also reduced the number of management layers and sharply limited remote work.
The cuts represented one of the largest workforce reductions at Uber since the pandemic period.
Why Uber Cut Jobs in 2026
The 2026 restructuring was not presented simply as a response to financial weakness.
Uber said it wanted to become more efficient and redirect resources toward its most important opportunities, particularly autonomous transportation and other technology-driven areas.
Khosrowshahi also said that some of the savings could ultimately benefit customers.
At a September 2026 conference, he indicated that lower operating costs could help Uber reduce ride prices and improve the selection available to customers.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in the technology industry, where companies are increasingly attempting to operate with smaller teams while investing more heavily in artificial intelligence and automation.
Khosrowshahi Buys $10 Million of Uber Stock
Another major September 2026 development involved Khosrowshahi personally increasing his investment in Uber.
According to a securities filing, he purchased approximately 141,000 Uber shares for about $10 million on September 10, 2026, at an average price of approximately $70.96 per share.
The purchase attracted attention because it came shortly after Uber announced the large workforce reduction.
It was widely interpreted by financial-market observers as a sign that Khosrowshahi remained confident about Uber’s long-term prospects.
Uber’s Future Under Khosrowshahi
Khosrowshahi now faces a very different challenge from the one he inherited in 2017.
The central question is no longer simply whether Uber can become a major ride-hailing platform. The company is now trying to define its role in a transportation industry that could be transformed by autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and increasingly automated logistics.
Uber must also maintain relationships with millions of drivers while developing technology that could eventually reduce dependence on human drivers in some markets.
That creates a complicated strategic balance.
Khosrowshahi’s ability to manage that transition could become one of the most important parts of his legacy.
Personal Life
Dara Khosrowshahi is married to Sydney Shapiro, whom he married in 2012. He has children from his family relationships.
He has also spoken publicly about his family’s experience with autism and has supported organizations involved in autism awareness and advocacy.
Away from business, Khosrowshahi has described himself as interested in travel, science fiction and gaming. His personal interests occasionally appear in his public social-media presence.
Dara Khosrowshahi’s Legacy
Dara Khosrowshahi’s career is notable because it combines immigration, finance, technology and corporate leadership.
He went from leaving Iran as a child to becoming a major American technology executive. Before Uber, he successfully led Expedia through years of international expansion. At Uber, he inherited a company facing significant cultural and regulatory problems and helped guide it toward a more disciplined corporate model.
His leadership has also been tested repeatedly, from the COVID-19 crisis to questions about autonomous transportation and the company’s relationship with its workforce.
As of September 2026, Khosrowshahi remains Uber’s chief executive. His immediate priorities include making the company more efficient, investing in its future transportation strategy and determining how Uber can benefit from autonomous vehicles without losing the massive network that made it one of the world’s best-known transportation platforms.
His next chapter could ultimately determine whether Uber remains primarily a ride-hailing company or becomes a much broader technology platform for transportation and delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dara Khosrowshahi
1. Who is Dara Khosrowshahi?
Dara Khosrowshahi is an Iranian-American business executive and the chief executive officer of Uber. He became Uber’s CEO in 2017 after previously serving as CEO of Expedia.
2. When was Dara Khosrowshahi born?
Dara Khosrowshahi was born on May 28, 1969, in Tehran, Iran. He later moved to the United States with his family after the Iranian Revolution.
3. What happened to Uber under Dara Khosrowshahi?
Khosrowshahi has overseen Uber’s transition from an aggressive ride-hailing startup into a broader technology and transportation company. During his tenure, Uber expanded its delivery business, became publicly traded, focused more heavily on profitability and increased its involvement in autonomous transportation.
4. Why did Uber lay off thousands of employees in 2026?
In September 2026, Uber announced plans to cut approximately 3,300 jobs, or around 10 percent of its global workforce. The company said the restructuring was designed to simplify its organization, reduce management layers and concentrate investment on its biggest opportunities.
Yes. A September 2026 securities filing showed that Khosrowshahi purchased approximately 141,000 Uber shares for about $10 million. The purchase came shortly after the company’s announcement of major workforce reductions.
