Uber Takes Back Job Offer To Amazon Voice-Shopping Exec

Uber has taken back a job offer it made to Amazon executive Assaf Ronen after it discovered a discrepancy related to his time at the eCommerce giant.

Earlier this month, the ridesharing company named Ronen, Amazon’s top voice shopping vice president, product head Daniel Graf’s replacement.

Ronen has worked for both Microsoft and Amazon, serving as vice president of voice and natural user interface shopping.

But Recode reported that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sent a memo out to staff today, explaining that “we have withdrawn our offer to Assaf Ronen.”

The reason for the reversal is the fact that Ronen had left Amazon at the very end of 2017 and was not working for the company as Uber had thought he was at the time of the hiring. It was not clear why he had left Amazon, but this change in his employment history disqualified Ronen for the position at Uber.

“Hiring is, quite literally, the heart and soul of our company and rescinding Assaf’s offer was not a decision we took lightly,” wrote Khosrowshahi. “I also recognize that it’s one more disruption for our stellar Product organization. But when it comes to who joins our team, we have very clear expectations, and this was the right thing for us to do.”

While this turn of events is no doubt a disappointment for Uber, Khosrowshahi noted that company also has “a strong bench.” With that in mind, Product VP Manik Gupta, who came from Google, will run the product organization on an interim basis.

“As I said last week, Manik has an amazing reputation in Silicon Valley and has been an incredible mentor and coach for many at Uber. I trust him completely to keep the Product team firing on all cylinders as we continue to create the best experience for riders and drivers around the world,” added Khosrowshahi.

In addition, former product head Graf also remains an adviser to Uber.