Ride-hailing giant Uber recently announced that it has appointed its India business head Pradeep Parameswaran as the Regional Manager for its Asia Pacific region operations. His appointment will come in effect from next week.
The former McKinsey executive will be tasked to improve Uber’s presence in the nine nations in the Asia Pacific region where the company operates. An Uber spokesperson said that Pradeep will be overseeing Uber’s ride business in the Asia Pacific region, but not the food delivery category. He further added that the firm is also running a selection process to determine a replacement for Pradeep’s former India role.
The countries where Uber operates in APAC include India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. The company CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had earlier also said that the company plans to expand in Japan and South Korea in the immediate future, but coronavirus pandemic has put breaks on the ambitious plan.
Commenting on the appointment, Pradeep said, “There is huge potential to serve more Uber customers and continue innovating across the diverse region, whether that be taxi partnerships in North Asia, new products like Uber Rent in Australia or pushing two and three-wheelers deep into the Indian heartland.”
Parameswaran was appointed President of Uber’s India and South Asia operations two years ago replacing Amit Jain, who was elevated as the head of the Asia-Pacific region. But Jain left the company last year to join venture fund Sequoia Capital. Since then, the region has been managed by the Uber team in Europe.
“We’re pleased that Pradeep Parameswaran will take on an expanded role as Regional General Manager for APAC. After capably leading our India and South Asia business since 2018, I know that he will continue to inspire Uber’s next phase of growth across this key region,” said Andrew Macdonald, SVP of Mobility and Business Operations at Uber, in a statement.
Under Pradeep’s leadership, Uber has witnessed many ups and downs. Pradeep has helped the firm grow and steer through some tough decisions in the world’s second largest internet market. Uber had earlier announced that in 2019, it handled 14 million rides each week in India.
However, the company’s plan to rule over the food delivery market did not work in the country. Earlier this year, Uber sold its Eats’ Indian business to local rival Zomato.
The move comes within days of the company’s laying off 600 employees in India as the coronavirus and the lockdown take a toll on business.
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