5 CEO leadership moves that helped make Uber dominant

These leadership takeaways are part of a new primetime series, CNBC Leaders Playbook, premiering January 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by Julia Boorstin, the series goes inside the minds of the world’s top business leaders to reveal how lasting success is built.

When Dara Khosrowshahi stepped in as CEO in 2017, Uber was one of the most recognizable brands in the world. And one of the most troubled.

The company was facing ongoing scandals, a string of executive departures, and strained relationships with regulators and city authorities. On top of all that, the platform was losing billions of dollars. 

Leaving a stable, successful CEO role at Expedia to take over Uber was a major personal and professional gamble. But Khosrowshahi saw something bigger than the crisis: the scale of Uber’s impact on everyday life and its potential to reshape how cities move.

Rather than avoid the risk, he chose to step into it — believing the challenge itself was worth taking on.

When Khosrowshahi became CEO, his first job was fixing Uber’s culture and rebuilding trust with regulators and drivers, alike.

Instead of rushing, he says he slowed down to listen, gave drivers a real voice, and set a simple rule: “Do the right thing. Period. No exceptions.”

He saw trust as something you earn through behavior, not PR.

So, he led with openness and backed it up with real safety and product changes.

When the pandemic hit, about 85% of Uber’s mobility rides vanished almost overnight. If nothing changed, Uber was on track to lose $5 billion a year.

Khosrowshahi switched into “wartime-mode.” He cut costs, including laying off roughly 25% of the company, and moved fast to lean in on Uber Eats.

Demand for delivery doubled overnight, giving restaurants a lifeline and letting many drivers switch from moving people to moving food.

Over time, deliveries grew to be nearly as large as the ride-sharing business. The pivot kept Uber afloat in the crisis and set the platform up for dramatic growth. 

After the pandemic, Uber struggled to get drivers back — making it more important than ever to improve the driver experience.

While many employees regularly used the app as riders, Khosrowshahi realized that few people inside the company — including himself — truly understood what it was like to use the app as a driver.

So the CEO got behind the wheel of a Tesla and started picking up rides himself.

What he discovered was striking: the app worked far more smoothly for riders than it did for drivers. By experiencing the platform firsthand, he saw the gaps clearly and pushed teams to make changes that would matter to drivers returning to the platform.

After the pandemic, Uber had a choice: protect profits or spend big to get drivers back.

Even at the risk of disappointing Wall Street in the short term, Khosrowshahi chose to invest hundreds of millions in driver incentives to ensure healthy, long-term growth. 

That mindset drove other tough calls: exiting markets Uber couldn’t win, focusing on organic growth instead of big acquisitions, and partnering on autonomous vehicles rather than building them alone.

The result: a stronger, more disciplined Uber built for the long haul.