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Legends Live @Citi: Dara Khosrowshahi

March 11, 2025
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Audio Description

Citi Vice Chair of Client and Banking Leon Kalvaria hosted Dara Khosrowshahi for another session of our global speaker series, Legends Live @Citi.

Dara has managed Uber’s business in more than 70 countries around the world since 2017. He was previously CEO of Expedia, which he grew into one of the world’s largest online travel companies.

Leon and Dara spoke about a wide range of topics, including  his decision to join Uber and his efforts to transform its culture and rebuild trust.

Leon Kalvaria is a member of the Client Organization Management Committee, and Citi’s Private Equity Investment Oversight Committee. Previously, Leon was Chairman of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group. Before that, he was Global Head of Consumer and Healthcare Investment Banking. 

Leon joined Schroders in 1996 as Global Head of Consumer Banking, and Citigroup in 2000 following the merger of the two companies.

Prior to Schroders, Leon served as Vice Chairman and a Director of Triarc Companies, an investment company, and as Managing Director in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Credit Suisse First Boston. Leon was also a pioneer in the interest rate swap market at First Boston and a founding member of ISDA.

Leon has advised numerous Chief Executive Officers and Boards of Directors in some of the largest and most complex global mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations and public offerings.

Leon received his BA from Princeton University (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Heineken Family Council.

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Dara Khosrowshahi is the CEO of Uber, where he has managed the company’s business in more than 70 countries around the world since 2017.

Dara was previously CEO of Expedia, which he grew into one of the world’s largest online travel companies. A seasoned executive with a background in both engineering and finance, Dara oversaw a number of acquisitions that bolstered Expedia’s offerings and aggressively invested in mobile, which now accounts for more than half of Expedia’s traffic. He was also beloved by Expedia’s employees and named one of the Highest Rated CEOs on Glassdoor. Dara was promoted to Expedia CEO after serving as the Chief Financial Officer of IAC Travel, a division of IAC, which purchased Expedia in 2002 and spun it off in 2005. He was also instrumental in the expansion of IAC’s portfolio of travel brands.

Before joining IAC, Dara served as Vice President of Allen & Company and spent a number of years as an analyst. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Expedia and Catalyst.org and was previously on the board of the New York Times Company. He’s a passionate advocate for refugees in crisis around the world, having himself left Iran during the Iranian Revolution at the age of 9.

Dara grew up in Tarrytown, New York, and received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Brown University.

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