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‘I have to tell you I am scared’: Dara Khosrowshahi says in a memo to Expedia’s staff that he has finally been hired at Uber

The CEO of the online travel service said he has accepted the job as Uber CEO.

New Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in Sun Valley, Idaho
Dara Khosrowshahi is in at Uber.
Scott Olson / Getty

In a memo to his employees at Expedia, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he had officially taken the job as CEO of Uber.

Uber also released a memo on the hiring, after its board made an offer to him Sunday, which was first reported on Recode.

“This has been one of the toughest decisions of my life,” wrote Khosrowshahi, in a missive obtained by Recode, to his staff at the online travel service. “I’ve had the privilege to run Expedia for 12+ years now, and most of you who have been on this journey with me know it has not been easy going.”

Nice. But even more eloquently, he noted: “I have to tell you I am scared. I’ve been here at Expedia for so long that I’ve forgotten what life is like outside this place. But the times of greatest learning for me have been when I’ve been through big changes, or taken on new roles — you have to move out of your comfort zone and develop muscles that you didn’t know you had.”

After being offered the job on Sunday by the board of the car-hailing company, Khosrowshahi has since been negotiating his contract.

“We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent and vision,” said the Uber board in a joint statement. “The Board and the Executive Leadership Team are confident that Dara is the best person to lead Uber into the future building world-class products, transforming cities, and adding value to the lives of drivers and riders around the world while continuously improving our culture and making Uber the best place to work.”

In a separate statement, former Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick — who was ousted from his job by angry shareholders two months ago — congratulated Khosrowshahi.

“With a deep passion for team building, Dara grew Expedia into one of the world’s most successful travel and technology platforms,” he said in a statement. “Casting a vote for the new chief executive was a big moment for me and I couldn’t be happier to pass the torch to such an inspiring leader.”

Hopefully, that means Kalanick won’t call Khosrowshahi, who will call him going forward.

And, of course, Arianna Huffington tweeted congrats and also the Uber statement.

So, now it’s official, because Arianna said so! Look for the all-hands meeting with Khosrowshahi’s new Uber employees tomorrow.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.