Uber legal chief Tony West on overcoming scandal, going public, and tech’s watershed moment

Uber is within the midst of a makeover. Name it Uber 2.0. After a 12 months of controversies rocked the embattled ride-hailing big, new management got here in to remodel Uber’s inside tradition, exterior repute, and enterprise technique.

Tony West, one of many executives chargeable for righting the ship, mentioned his first 12 months as Uber’s chief authorized officer in an interview on the 2018 GeekWire Summit. The candid dialog ranged from Uber’s push to turn out to be an on-demand mobility app to the lawsuits and sexual harassment considerations West inherited from the corporate’s earlier management staff.

“I used to be lucky sufficient to have this profession that spanned the private and non-private sectors so I believed I used to be well-prepared to have the ability to tackle a number of the challenges that Uber offered,” West stated. “I knew there could be days the place I’d open up the closet and a skeleton I hadn’t anticipated would tumble out. Fortunately these days don’t occur as usually as they did once I first began.”

Earlier than becoming a member of Uber a 12 months in the past, West was normal counsel for PepsiCo. Previous to his work within the non-public sector, he held completely different positions within the U.S. Division of Justice together with affiliate legal professional normal.

West shared classes discovered from public service — and from a political superstar in his household — throughout the hearth chat. He additionally gave insights into Uber’s dedication to security and transparency within the post-Travis Kalanick period.

Take heed to our podcast of the interview beneath, watch the total video above, and proceed studying for highlights from the discuss.

On taking the job at Uber: I had a possibility to satisfy Dara Khosrowshahi the brand new CEO. It was proper after he began and Dara spun out this new imaginative and prescient of a mobility platform that was all about, “how will we make the world transfer and the way will we do it whereas additionally doing the proper factor?” As somebody who spent half of his profession on the Division of Justice the place you attempt to do the proper factor every single day, it was a reasonably compelling proposition.

I knew there could be huge challenges. It was a part of what attracted me to the job. I used to be lucky sufficient to have this profession that spanned the private and non-private sectors so I believed I used to be well-prepared to have the ability to tackle a number of the challenges that Uber offered. I knew there could be days the place I’d open up the closet and a skeleton I hadn’t anticipated would tumble out. Fortunately these days don’t occur as usually as they did once I first began however there’s nonetheless nice challenges.

On enjoying by the foundations: I don’t imagine that there’s this selection it’s a must to make between being compliant and being modern and, in truth, once I take into consideration a few of Uber’s biggest improvements it truly comes within the compliance space, like insurance coverage that now permits peer-to-peer driving to happen … I don’t assume these are mutually unique in any respect. I do assume there’s magic that made Uber doable, made that disruption doable, made that innovation doable, and was essential to its success. I imagine you’ll be able to nonetheless have the magic that underlies that and but be a compliant firm.

On Uber’s new mobility future: It’s not only a ride-sharing firm. It’s a mobility platform which implies that whether or not you’re speaking about bikes you’re speaking about scooters, you’re speaking about integrating our platform within the panorama, the transportation panorama of a metropolis, which implies partnerships with cities and municipalities, that can be what Uber is and that has to tackle a really native taste. That has to tackle a really indigenous high quality to achieve success.

On tech’s watershed second: One of many issues that you just study popping out of this complete knowledge breach state of affairs and observing what’s happening is that in the case of knowledge and in the case of individuals’s privateness it’s a must to deal with individuals’s knowledge in ways in which customers anticipate. It’s not sufficient merely to say, “we’ve the check-the-box consent once you join the app and due to this fact we’ve your consent.” That’s vital. That’s obligatory. Nevertheless it’s not ample. It’s important to then, in the best way that you just deal with knowledge, show that you just’re appearing in ways in which meet customers expectations.

It’s a very vital second for tech. It’s a very vital second and I believe it’s one which if it’s dealt with appropriately creates alternatives to create extra belief, not much less, however that’s all in how we react to this.

On his sister-in-law, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris: We had been each prosecutors on the similar time. She was within the DA’s workplace once I was within the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace and I believe Kamala has demonstrated in so some ways that you could be efficient in regulation enforcement in case you acknowledge the significance of working with communities … and that extends to your being an efficient public servant writ giant. I believe she’s demonstrated, again and again, that by being somebody who cares about re-entry, by being somebody who cares about communities which were forgotten in many various methods, by being somebody who’s very ahead leaning and really progressive on regulation enforcement points, that you could be a wonderful public servant.”

On Uber and Lyft’s deliberate IPOs: I don’t know if it’s a race. I do know there’s quite a lot of discuss and pleasure and enthusiasm about IPO. The one factor I’ll say is when or whether or not Uber goes public, an important factor is that the corporate continues to execute and execute at scale.

On settling a lawsuit with Alphabet’s Waymo: It was freighted with quite a lot of historical past and baggage, textual content messages, that Dara and I, we simply didn’t come to the desk with. That created a possibility, I believe, not simply to settle that case however to extend Google’s funding in Uber in order that now we’re companions and never adversaries … It doesn’t restrict in any respect. I believe quite a lot of it’s simply assurances that Uber’s know-how is its personal, which we’ve at all times been assured is true, and that it’s going to proceed to innovate utilizing its know-how and utilizing its personal IP which we imagine has at all times been true.

On autonomous automobiles and the deadly self-driving Uber crash: If you have a look at the trajectory of autonomous automobiles, I believe you’ll be able to have a look at the trajectory of different industries whether or not it’s aviation, I believe is a very good one to have a look at, and also you’ll see there’s at all times an evolution because the know-how will get higher and higher. That complete episode, some of the vital issues that may come from that tragedy is — and our hearts nonetheless exit to that household, Ms. Herzberg and her household — an important factor to return out of which might be some actual classes about security and the way do you create a security tradition, be sure you’re appearing in ways in which incentivize security and protected selections all through the product improvement cycle. You by no means need to have one thing like that occur but when it does occur, you need to be sure you’re taking the entire classes that you could.

I’m actually assured that we’ve a security tradition and are creating a security tradition that can decrease the possibilities of that ever taking place once more however I can’t predict the long run, sadly.

On regaining consumer belief: We have to earn their belief every single day. The model proposition is belief.

All I can say is, in case you deleted Uber, give us one other probability; we’ve acquired new management within the firm. Take a look at not simply what we are saying, however have a look at what we truly do and decide us by our actions in addition to our phrases. I believe you’ll be happy with what you discover.