Ride-hailing giant Uber has filled the chief financial officer position which has remained vacant for three years.
The appointment of Nelson Chai, a veteran of the financial services industry, is intended to clear the way for a stock market flotation next year.
The search for a replacement for previous CFO Brent Callinicos stepped up when Dara Khosrowshahi became CEO last year.
“I know people at the major investment banks,” Chai, 53, told Reuters. “After the announcement goes out I expect to become a lot more popular with people from my past.”
He will begin his position next month.
Fast-growing Uber reported losses of $404 million in the second quarter of 2018, up 32 per cent from Q1, while it has lost billions of dollars in other recent quarters.
Khosrowshahi said: “He will be a great partner for me and the entire management team as we move toward becoming a public company.”
Chai’s experience includes The Warranty Group, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, CIT Group and Archipelago Holdings.
He took the latter, an electronic stock exchange, to IPO in 2004 before it was later bought by the New York Stock Exchange. Chai then served as CFO at the NYSE.