Dara Khosrowshahi was born into a wealthy Iranian family. He grew up in a family mansion, being the youngest of the three children. His family founded a diversified conglomerate of pharmaceutical, chemical, food, distribution, parcel, commerce, and services called Alborz Investment Company.
Because of his fortune, Dara’s family was a cause for persecution in 1978, before the Iranian revolution began. His mother decided to leave everything and leave the country. His family’s company was later nationalized, and they took refuge in southern France. They planned to return to Iran in case the revolution failed, but as this did not happen, they settled in New York, where some uncles lived.
In 1991, Dara Khosrowshahi obtained a B.A. in biotechnology engineering from Brown University.
After graduating, Dara Khosrowshahi worked as an analyst at the Allen & Company investment bank. In 1998, Dara left the bank to work with one of his previous clients, Barry Diller, at USA Networks, where he was vice president of strategic planning, then president, until he was CFO of IAC, another company controlled by Diller. IAC bought Expedia.
In 2005, Dara Khosrowshahi became CEO of Expedia. During this time, the company quadrupled its value in hotels and reservations, in addition to doubling the company’s earnings before taxes. Under the leadership of Khosrowshahi, the company expanded to 60 countries and acquired Travelocity, Orbity, and HomeAway.
In August 2017, Dara Kohsrowshahi succeeded Travis Kalanick as CEO of Uber. The company reported paying $ 200 million to accept the position. In May 2019, Khosrowshahi took Uber to his initial public offering.
In June 2013, Dara received the Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year award from the consulting firm Ernst & Young.
Khosrowshahi is a critic of Donald Trump’s immigration policy. In 2016, he donated to the Hillary Victory Fund, Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray, and the National Democratic Committee, but also gave to Republican Senator Mike Lee, a promoter of Libertarianism.
