Uber appoints first chief operating officer since 2019

Uber Technologies Inc. has appointed Andrew Macdonald as its first chief operating officer (COO) since 2019.

This change follows the departure of Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, senior vice president of delivery, who has left after nearly 13 years with the company.

Macdonald, formerly head of Uber’s mobility unit, will oversee both the mobility and delivery divisions.

Macdonald has been with Uber since 2012, starting as its first general manager in Toronto.

He will relocate to New York in September and is the first COO since Barney Harford, who stepped down shortly after Uber’s public listing.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The evolution of Uber’s leadership structure reveals its business maturity

Uber’s appointment of a COO marks a significant milestone in its corporate evolution, completing a leadership transformation that began when Khosrowshahi took over in 2017 amid scandals and cultural issues.

After Barney Harford stepped down as COO in 2019 shortly after Uber’s IPO, the company operated without this traditional executive role for five years while focusing on cultural transformation and market stabilization.

This structural change reflects a broader pattern in high-growth tech companies, where leadership roles typically evolve as businesses mature. Research shows CEO tenures in such companies average just 6 years as governance needs change with scale 1.

By promoting long-tenured leaders like Macdonald (who joined in 2012) and three other veterans, Uber is prioritizing institutional knowledge while creating a more conventional corporate hierarchy typical of established public companies.

The timing suggests Uber has sufficiently stabilized its core operations to now focus on cross-platform integration rather than crisis management or cultural rebuilding that characterized Khosrowshahi’s early tenure.

2️⃣ Cross-platform integration emerges as a critical growth strategy in the mobility sector

Uber’s consolidation of mobility and delivery leadership directly addresses a key business challenge: despite offering both services, less than 20% of Uber customers use both platforms in a given quarter, indicating significant untapped revenue potential.

This organizational change aligns with broader industry trends, as the shared mobility market is projected to grow from $198.23 billion in 2024 to $356 billion by 2030, with integrated service offerings becoming increasingly important 2.