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Big Technology
Ex-Uber Exec Emil Michael on Autonomous Driving, Saudi Arabia, and Company Culture
Uber’s former chief business officer discusses the gig app’s future in an uncertain climate
OneZero is partnering with the Big Technology Podcast from Alex Kantrowitz to bring readers exclusive access to interview transcripts with notable figures in and around the tech industry.
This week, we’re joined by Emil Michael, Uber’s former chief business officer. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To subscribe to the podcast and hear the interview for yourself, you can check it out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Overcast.
Uber is facing a difficult moment amid the coronavirus pandemic. The service, built on the belief that people would forsake car ownership in favor of its ride-hailing service, is watching many of its customers buy cars and stay home. The new trouble comes after the company worked to right itself after years of turbulence under ex-CEO Travis Kalanick’s leadership. Emil Michael, the former Uber chief business officer and confidant of Kalanick, joined the Big Technology Podcast to discuss Uber’s business prospects, its culture, its current leadership, and its controversies.
Alex Kantrowitz: You were the chief dealmaker for Uber, one of Travis Kalanick’s right-hand men. Would you say that that’s an accurate description?
Emil Michael: Right-hand man tends to be independent of title. It’s: Who does the leader spend the most time with? I probably spent the most time with Travis on various business problems in my scope and out of my scope. My day job was chief business officer, which included corporate development— that was raising money, which we raised a lot of at Uber, mergers and acquisitions, business development, so like the partnerships we did with credit card companies or car companies and so on. I ran our enterprise business, which was called Uber For Business. I ran our China business. I was the most senior exec at headquarters managing the China business, which is a big, big deal for us.
Like a lot of people, I bought a car during this pandemic. I used to take Uber all the time. I don’t take…
