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Uber just gave David Plouffe’s job to a top Google exec - The Washington
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/05/13/uber-just-gave-david-plouffes-job-to-a-top-google-exec/

Uber just gave David Plouffe’s job to a top Google exec

(barackobamadotcom
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/6264343875>)

Turns out that helping to manage a global logistics company is a bit more
complicated than running a political campaign.

Just eight months ago, Uber hired former Obama adviser David Plouffe to
turn the company's image around. The private car-hailing service was being
battered in the media for its numerous public missteps
<http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/26/6067663/this-is-ubers-playbook-for-sabotaging-lyft>,
and a faceoff with taxicab incumbents had grown pretty nasty.

Now, however, Plouffe is being replaced by top Google executive Rachel
Whetstone as senior vice president of policy and communications. Uber said
Wednesday that Plouffe will adopt a different role with the company, taking
a position on its board and becoming a strategic adviser rather than being
involved with day-to-day operations. Plouffe will continue working
full-time on a broad portfolio that includes business, legal and policy
issues.

The sudden switch-up hints at how quickly Uber itself is evolving. When
Plouffe came on board, Uber desperately needed a crisis communications
team. Not long after he joined, BuzzFeed reported that the company was
targeting journalists who'd criticized the firm. Plouffe began appearing on
cable TV shows
<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/obama-uber-115166_Page2.html#.VVPGztNViko>
to tout "the good we're bringing to cities," and preparing academic-style
studies linking Uber to decreases in drunk driving.

Since then, much of the public backlash against Uber appears to have eased,
and it and other ridesharing companies have successfully pressed for friendlier
regulations
<http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/01/29/uber-laws-a-primer-on-ridesharing-regulations/>
in more than a dozen states. But the company still faces significant
regulatory hurdles in many places, particularly abroad. In South Korea, for
instance, Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick was recently charged by
police
<http://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-charges-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-2015-3>
with operating an illegal service.

This is where Whetstone comes in. A powerful former adviser to Google's
Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Whetstone brings with her experience working
for Google in Europe — one of the company's toughest regulatory environments
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/04/14/googles-antitrust-woes-in-europe-explained/>
.

Whetstone's arrival isn't just a blow to Google; it's an indication that
Uber's struggles with government are far from over. If anything, the
company just conceded that it needs even more firepower.


Eric D. Schwerin
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com

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