Under Khosrowshahi's leadership, Expedia more than doubled its annual revenue since 2012 to nearly $8.8 billion in 2016. The company reported net income of $281.8 million for 2016. In an interview with CNBC in May, he said: "Analysts are focused on margins. I am focused on growth."

The 48 year old Iranian-American businessman came to the United States in 1978 with his parents following the Iranian Revolution. He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Brown University and got his start at investment bank Allen and Co.

Surprisingly he remained out of contention for the post and also far away from public limelight. Meg Whitman the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Jeff Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co were among top names being suggested for the post. Jeff publicly announced on Sunday that he was no longer in the running, while Whitman, denied having any interest in the job.

Unlike Immelt and Whitman, Khosrowshahi was not a regular fixture in the celebrity executive community. And since Expedia is based in Bellevue, Washington, he has remained a Silicon Valley outsider, offering a contrast to the "tech bro" culture Kalanick established at Uber.

Khosrowski is expected to take on the daunting task of mending Uber's image, repairing frayed relations among investors, rebuilding employee morale and creating a profitable business after seven years of losses.

At Uber, he would bring an end to a company culture built on founder control. Kalanick enjoyed sweeping authority on the board and nearly complete autonomy in running the company, a governance style that helped to create a workplace that had few checks and balances.

Last week, Uber said its sales reached $1.75 billion in the second quarter, up 17% from the previous quarter. The problems for Kalanick started earlier this year after a former Uber engineer alleged sexual harassment at the company, according to a report in The New York Times .

Susan Fowler, a former site reliability engineer, levelled numerous allegations of sexism against her former superiors in a lengthy blog post. Her blog was widely shared online and prompted the company to launch an internal investigation. This led to further allegations from other employees, prompting the company to conduct internal investigations.

Uber has already fired 20 employees, some including senior positions, after evaluating more than 200 claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and unprofessional conduct.

What role Kalanick has in the company going forward is a critical question whose answer remains unclear. In a previous statement, Kalanick said he would support the new CEO "to guide Uber into its next phase of growth and ensure its continued success."