Lyft Hires Its First Strategy Chief
October 20 2016 - 9:00PM
Dow Jones News
Ride-sharing service Lyft Inc. said it hired its first strategy
chief to bolster operations as the company seeks to solidify its
position against larger rival Uber Technologies Inc.
Raj Kapoor, a venture capitalist who helped lead Mayfield Fund's
investment in Lyft, is to head strategy, the company said Thursday.
It also hired Pandora Media Inc.'s marketing vice president,
Melissa Waters, who will assume a similar role at the San Francisco
company. Lyft's former marketing head, Kira Wampler, is set to
become chief executive of Art.com after a two-year stint.
Mr. Kapoor, 46 years old, was a co-founder of Snapfish, the
photo storage business, and Fitmob, a fitness company; he was also
on Lyft's board in its early years. Ms. Waters, 39, was previously
in marketing at Home Depot Inc. and Diamond Foods Inc.
Lyft has sought to keep up with Uber and improve its standing in
the market through corporate partnerships. Last year it formed an
alliance with several ride-hailing companies in Asia to let users
of each app use the other services in their respective countries.
It also raised $500 million this year from General Motors Co. as
part of a deal to work on developing self-driving taxis.
Lyft, which was last valued at $5.5 billion by investors, hasn't
expanded its operations beyond the U.S., nor has it pursued many
new business lines like its crosstown rival. Uber, which is valued
at $68 billion and is available in hundreds of cities around the
world, is delivering food and other merchandise and recently closed
on a deal to buy autonomous truck company Otto.
The two companies spend heavily to attract new customers and
drivers to their services, primarily through cash promotions for
first-time users. In some markets those payouts can be more than
$1,000 if drivers complete a certain number of trips.
Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 20, 2016 20:45 ET (00:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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