Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post, is joining Uber’s board.
The ride-hailing company, valued at more than $60 billion, made the announcement in a blog post Wednesday morning.
“From the start of our friendship it was obvious that she believes deeply in our mission: transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone,” CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick wrote.
He went on to describe a recent staff event where Huffington told the crowd that using Uber to order a ride for a family member who was stuck in Brooklyn during a snowstorm made her feel “like a genuine Greek goddess.”
Huffington already is an Uber investor, Recode reports, and has teamed up with the company in a recent project to “end drowsy driving.” The efforts sync with Huffington’s recent book, “The Sleep Revolution,” on the importance of sleep.
In joining Uber’s board, Huffington will sit with the likes of Benchmark partner Bill Gurley and former White House adviser David Plouffe.
Kalanick wrote that as an engineer, he hopes to learn from Huffington’s emotional intelligence. She begins each conversation by asking how you are, not how your business is doing, he added.
“Arianna embodies the type of optimistic leadership we need as Uber continues to grow,” Kalanick wrote. “Her guidance has been invaluable to me personally over the years, and I know that in this new role she’ll help take Uber to the next level.”
Photo: Arianna Huffington, left, and her daughter Christina Huffington attend the TIME 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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