Ride-hailing company Lyft is getting a new CEO as it reels under financial crisis. The company’s co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer will step down from their respective roles of CEO and President by April end. David Risher, a season tech executive, will take over the reins on April 17 as the company’s CEO. Green and Zimmer will transition to non-executive roles and serve as chair and vice chair of Lyft’s board.
Who is David Risher?
David Risher will be Lyft’s new CEO, and the news has already taken the investors by storm. The shares of the company rose 5% within hours. Many believe Risher has the required skills to upend the sorry state of the ride-hailing corporate, which has been battered by rising operational costs, lack of labour and neck-breaking competition from Uber.
Risher has previously worked with Amazon, who rose through the ranks working with its founder and chairman Jeff Bezos. He started working at Amazon in 1997. In 2002, before leaving the company, he was serving as SVP of marketing and merchandising. Today, Risher serves as the CEO and co-founder of Worldreader, a nonprofit organisation that encourages kids to read digital books.
Will David Risher beat Uber?
David Risher believes Lyft might be an underdog to Uber in the ride-hailing business but it could appeal differently to customers. Risher said, “When I look at the 800-pound gorilla, I see a company that I think is very business-model driven. But we’re going to be customer driven.”
“I am honored to step into the CEO role at such an important moment in the company’s history, and am prepared to take this business to new levels of success,” Risher added.
His impeccable record at Amazon further reinforces the investors’ confidence in Risher. According to a statement from Lyft, he contributed to Amazon’s transformation from an online bookseller with $15 million in yearly sales to the “everything store” with over $4 billion in sales. Now, Lyft’s investors are expecting to see such a corporate miracle again with Risher at the helm.
Lyft vs Uber: Who stands where?
In its most recent quarter, Lyft did report record revenue of $1.2 billion, but with $588 million in losses. On the flip side, Uber announced $8.6 billion in revenue and informed investors that it anticipated operating income profitability this year. This showed that Uber’s business was growing.
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