Uber is likely to use corporate governance changes made in the UK as part of its plea to have its licence to operate in London reinstated.
Today will see the opening arguments in what is expected to be a three-day hearing on the taxi company’s suspended licence in the UK capital.
Uber lost its licence in September last year with Transport for London, the taxi regulator, insisting: “…Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications.”
The company has since made significant governance changes, including the appointment of three non-executives in the UK alongside a new chairman, Laurel Powers-Freeling, a former advisor to the Bank of England.
Uber’s new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, has, according to the Wall Street Journal, made some efforts to soften the company’s image after the ousting of Travis Kalalnick. The former CEO reportedly practised an approach of “principled confrontation” with regulators in various jurisdictions around the world, the WSJ said.
The paper writes that Khosrowshahi has “rolled out a new set of cultural norms, including one that states, ‘We Do the Right Thing. Period,’ in part to turn the page on Uber’s “scofflaw” reputation, and has appeared in US commercials acknowledging the company’s checkered past and promising a better future.”