Uber Technologies has hired former Google VPs Amit Singhal and Kevin Thompson to tackle the next big challenges of the ride-hailing service. Singhal will be SVP of Engineering and Thompson will be the new VP of Marketplace Engineering.
The latest additions to the company’s executive lineup have raised some eyebrows in the industry, as more and more ex-Google employees keep popping up to occupy positions at Uber.
Both Singhal and Thompson will work alongside other former coworkers at Silicon Valley, and the two will report directly to CEO Travis Kalanick.
Singhal and Thompson will oversee core features of Uber
On his new role as Senior Vice President of Engineering, Amit Singhal will supervise the progress of all computer science-related divisions, arguably the most important sector to keep the business up and running at the company.
The executive had a stellar track record at Google before his retirement almost a year ago in February. For 15 years, he was the tech giant’s head of search, the service we all know and use daily.
Singhal will supervise developments in everything from service software, and mapping efforts to the driverless tech Uber hope to put on the road everywhere it is available.
Kevin Thompson, on the other hand, had a different career at Google but almost as long. He served at the company for 12 years before resigning in November, when he was in charge of the YouTube Ads team.
As VP of Marketplace Engineering, Thompson will now take over of all the essential works of Uber as a service, including market analytics, car dispatching, and tracking prices of rides.
Is Uber taking over Google’s workforce?
The two new VPs may be occupying some big positions, but they are the newcomers in a company that seems to be poaching raw talent from one of the world’s most recognized tech giants.
Anthony Levandowski is perhaps the most well-known case, going from developing the first self-driving car prototypes at Google to head the autonomous tech division at Uber.
Brian McClendon was instrumental in the development and release of Maps and Earth for Google before becoming VP of Maps and Business Platform at the San Francisco-based company. Daniel Graf, who brought the app to iOS, is also an employee since late 2015.
Levandowski and McClendon will work under Singhal and Thompson will report to Graf, who is the head of the Marketplace division.
Other significant players now working for Uber include Liane Hornsey, the ride-sharing startup’s Chief HR Officer since last November, and Rachel Whetstone, SVP of Policy and Communications.
Source: Uber
