Part of a managerial overhaul included the retirement of the company’s top delivery leader, Uber Technologies Inc. nominated longstanding executive Andrew Macdonald as its first chief operations officer since 2019.
After almost 13 years, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, senior vice president of delivery, has decided to depart Uber; Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi reported in a note. The corporation is elevating Macdonald, Gore-Coty’s equivalent for the mobility unit, to the twin positions of president and COO in his place. From his new seat, he will supervise both companies as well as cross-platform initiatives like advertising, customer service, and the autonomous car strategy of the corporation.
Known to colleagues as “Mac, Macdonald will be the first COO of the carpool behemoth since Barney Harford resigned in 2019, soon after Uber went public.
Khosrowshahi in the memo said, “This is a natural next step in our evolution as a company.” Under Macdonald, consolidating the leadership of key business divisions will enable “accelerate” its initiatives to raise consumer interaction across its offerings, he said.
“While we have progressed, today less than 1 in 5 of our consumers use both mobility and delivery in a given quarter,” he said. “So we have a ton of opportunity in the years ahead, and the engine of Uber, bringing both companies closer together along with Core Services, will help us to speed our efforts.”
In his email, Khosrowshahi also reassured staff members that he has no intention of going “anywhere anytime soon” following the elevation of a senior CEO. “I will be clear: I have no plans to go anywhere anytime soon — other than fly around the globe trying to keep up with our ever-growing footprint,” he added, recognizing the change would cause some worries about his future.
Following closure at $83.64, Uber’s shares changed very little in extended trading. Already this year, the stock has risen about 39%.
Based on the message, Macdonald will transfer from Toronto to New York in September in line with the Khosrowshahi’s own last year relocation to the metropolis. After starting his career with the company in Toronto in 2012, Macdonald ascended the ranks to become an executive team member.
The company is also elevating three long-tenured employees to the leadership team as part of the adjustments, the spokesman added. Currently heading business development and Uber For Business, Pradeep Parameswaran—who formerly oversaw the Asia-Pacific mobility business—has been named global head of mobility. Currently leading grocery and retail, Susan Anderson was named global head of delivery; Sarfraz Maredia, head of the Americas delivery division, now holds the title of global head of autonomous mobility and delivery.
