Emil Michael

Emil Michael General Information

Description

Mr. Michael has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception and as our Chairman since August 2020. He is one of Silicon Valley's most highly regarded business executives having built three successful companies including Tellme Networks (sold to Microsoft in 2007), Klout (sold to Lithium Technologies in 2014) and Uber. Mr. Michael has extensive experience identifying high-growth, tech-enabled businesses with his investments spanning a broad range of companies including Bird, Codecademy, Docker, GoEuro, GoBrands, SpaceX, and Stripe. Mr. Michael has been the President of Technology and Management Consulting Services of M8 Enterprises LLC since January 2018. During his tenure as Chief Business Officer of Uber from July 2013 to June 2017, Mr. Michael led Uber's efforts in China and Russia, which resulted in substantial market value creation. Mr. Michael played a pivotal role in raising nearly $15 billion dollars in capital from investors globally and led the merger of Uber's China operations with key competitor in China, Didi Chiuxing. Additionally, he led the efforts to strike partnerships globally with companies such as American Express, AT&T, Daimler, Softbank, Tata Motors, and Toyota. Mr. Michael also led the Ottomotto acquisition that became the core of Uber's Advanced Technology Group, responsible for autonomous vehicle development. He is also responsible for creating UberMilitary, a program at Uber for military veterans and their families. Prior to Uber, Mr. Michael served as Chief Operating Officer of Klout, where he played a pivotal role in growing the social media analytics company. Klout ultimately sold to Lithium Technologies for $200 million in 2014. Before joining Klout, Mr. Michael served as a White House Fellow working for the Secretary of Defense as a Special Assistant. During his tenure at the Pentagon, he ran projects in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan as well as a department-wide budget cutting effort aimed at reducing overhead and bureaucracy. Mr. Michael was also part of the founding team of Tellme Networks, a pioneer in speech recognition technology and systems, that is highly regarded for weathering the technology bust of 2000 and for building a sustainable and profitable business. Mr. Michael helped Tellme Networks raise over $250 million in venture capital from investors such as Benchmark Capital and Kleiner Perkins. He also led Tellme Networks through its $800 million sale to Microsoft in 2007. Additionally, Mr. Michael has been a leadership coach and mentor to dozens of young CEOs over the years, giving him extensive exposure to early stage companies, technologies, and trends. He also serves as an advisor or investor in over 20 start-ups around the world, furthering his commitment to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs build and scale. He started his career at Goldman Sachs, where he was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division for a short period. Mr. Michael received his B.A. from Harvard University and his J.D. from Stanford Law School. We believe Mr. Michael is well qualified to serve on our board of directors given his extensive leadership and entrepreneurial experience in the technology industry.