Dara Khosrowshahi, the new Uber chief

Kalanick has held the position of CEO since he co-founded Uber back in 2009; it’s now valued at almost $70 billion. At Wednesday’s meeting, he reportedly spoke about the difficulties he experienced over the past half-year and received a standing ovation from the assembled workers. Khosrowshahi on Tuesday called the job “an opportunity of a lifetime” and signaled that he meant to become Uber’s next CEO. Mr. Kalanick “choked up”, according to the company; he had released a statement on Tuesday signaling his support of the new leadership.

A DE judge ruled Wednesday that an investor lawsuit targeting Uber Technologies’ former CEO must be moved to private arbitration.

In selecting Okerstrom for the Expedia CEO slot Expedia can emphasize continuity to investors, and the company gets a chief executive who thoroughly knows the ins and outs of the company’s strategy from HomeAway integration issues to hotel negotiations and the intricacies of websites’ sort order.

Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg in a “How did I get here?” profile, “My father had to go back to Iran to take care of his father when I was 13 and was detained for six years before returning. But the times of greatest learning for me have been when I’ve been through big changes, or taken on new roles”.

In a memo to Uber’s employees, Uber’s board said, “We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent, and vision”.

In a show of solidarity, Khosrowshahi posted for a group photo next to ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, board member Arianna Huffington and employees at the company’s San Francisco office.

Uber is also being sued by the self-driving company Waymo, a subsidiary of the search giant Alphabet Inc.

In 2005, he became CEO of Expedia, which he built into one of the world’s leading travel and technology companies, now operating in more than 60 countries.

With Uber, Khosrowshahi inherits an embattled company rocked by months of scandal involving alleged sexual harassment in the workplace and questionable workplace practices. “I’m hopeful that this announcement is the first step in Uber’s renewed commitment to the privacy and security of its users”.

The judge granted former CEO Travis Kalanick’s request to put the lawsuit on hold while an arbitrator considers claims raised by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Partners. Expedia works with auto rental companies, for instance; Uber has a deal with Hertz, and there’s a potential for rental auto companies to play a bigger role in managing autonomous vehicles in the future.