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Uber hires CFO as it prepares to IPO

Key Points
  • The ride-hailing company has been trying to tighten up its finances as it prepares to go public next year.
  • Its new CFO Nelson Chai previously held executive roles at insurance group Warranty, Merrill Lynch and NYSE Euronext.
Martin Ollman | Getty Images

Uber has named Nelson Chai as Chief Financial Officer ahead of a planned IPO, the company announced Tuesday.

The ride-hailing company has been trying to tighten up its finances as it prepares to go public next year. The most recent company-released numbers put Uber's valuation at around $60 billion.

Chai previously held executive roles at insurance group Warranty, Merrill Lynch and NYSE Euronext. Uber hasn't had a CFO since 2015.

"I'm incredibly excited to bring on someone as experienced and thoughtful as Nelson," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. "He will be a great partner for me and the entire management team as we move towards becoming a public company."

Here's Uber's full statement about the appointment:

Uber today welcomed Nelson J. Chai as Chief Financial Officer.

Nelson brings more than a decade of experience in senior positions at some of the world's leading publicly traded financial services and insurance companies. He joins Uber from the Chicago-based Warranty Group, an insurance and warranty provider, where he was CEO.

Previously, he spent more than five years at CIT Group, where he most recently served as President. Before that, he was Chief Financial Officer of Merrill Lynch & Co.; NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange; and Archipelago Holdings, the first fully electronic stock exchange in the United States.

"I'm incredibly excited to bring on someone as experienced and thoughtful as Nelson," said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO. "He will be a great partner for me and the entire management team as we move towards becoming a public company."

"Uber is one of the world's most iconic and exciting technology companies, and I'm honored to join as CFO," said Chai. "I look forward to working closely with Dara and team as we build on the company's strong growth and forward momentum."

Nelson serves on the boards of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

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