“I have to tell you, I am scared.”

That’s what Uber’s new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said in a note he sent to his staff at Expedia Inc. where he was CEO for more than a decade, reports CNBC.

Of course he’s scared – who wouldn’t be? Uber is no small company, and the taxi-hailing service operates in 633 cities around the world.

But Uber’s new choice is a solid one. Khosrowshahi is respected in Silicon Valley for handling the huge expansion of Expedia, an online travel platform, to over 60 countries, reports IB Times:

After he took over Expedia, he successfully battled recessions that hampered people’s travel budgets and upstarts like Airbnb, which attempted to take away its business. Before working at Barry Diller’s IAC, he worked in the banking industry.

Addressing a packed room, Khosrowshahi, now 48, told Uber employees:

“I’m a fighter … I will fight with every bone in my body.”

And with that, here are five things we know about him:

The man’s a refugee

Born in 1969 in Iran, he and his family left for the United States in 1978 during the Iranian Revolution. A few years later, his father returned to Iran to look after Khosrowshahi’s grandfather and was detained by Iranian authorities for six years. Khosrowshahi was raised by his mother and two brothers in Tarrytown, New York.

He’s been critical of Donald Trump’s policies

Khosrowshahi was one of the first CEOs to be outspoken about the Orange Man. Not surprisingly, it was against Trump’s immigration ban as well as Trump’s response to the Charlottesville rally.

He was once the highest-paid CEO in the U.S.

In 2015, Khosrowshahi was ranked as the highest-paid chief executive of a U.S. public company, with a compensation that totalled $94,6 million (R126 million). His total 2015 earning included a $1 million salary, $2,8 million bonus, and $90,8 million in stock options.

He’s an engineer graduate

In 1999, Khosrowshahi graduated from Brown University with a degree in engineering and joined Allen & Co as an investment banker. After a stint there, Khosrowshahi joined InterActiveCorp (IAC) under the mentorship of billionaire Barry Diller.

He sits on the board of the New York Times Company

Chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., also publisher of The New York Times, praised Khosrowshahi for his “comprehensive digital and international experience, as well as significant financial expertise.”

Now that you know, let’s hope Khosrowshahi shines in his new position. It’s going to be exciting to see where he takes Uber.

[source:cnbc&hollywoodlife&cnbc&guidingtech]