Lyft Makes a Huge and Fundamental Change

It could take the rideshare company in a new direction

Rideshare giant Lyft  (LYFT) - Get Free Report is making a huge and fundamental change after more than a decade.

The company, which has been competing with Uber  (UBER) - Get Free Report for ride- and mind-share since the start of the gig-economy, is finally shifting its management.

The co-founders of Lyft, Logan Green, who is chief executive officer, and John Zimmer, who is president are leaving their management roles at the company this spring, the company said in a statement.

In their place, a long-time tech company executive and board member, David Risher, will become chief executive officer.

Green and Zimmer will assume the roles of chair and vice-chair of the Lyft board of directors.

“Building Lyft with John over the last 16 years has been the adventure of a lifetime,” Green said in a statement. “All founders eventually find the right moment to step back and the right leaders to take their company forward,” he added. Risher “stood head and shoulders above other candidates the company considered," he added.

Risher, who was the 37th employee at Amazon, is “a customer-obsessed leader who drives hard,” Green said.

Risher said he was at first “gobsmacked” when asked to consider the job. However, “the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the competitive spirit I learned at Microsoft, the customer obsession I learned at Amazon, and the do-more-with-less lessons I learned leading Worldreader are exactly what Lyft needs right now.”

Both Lyft and Uber suffered during the pandemic, as people cut back sharply on travel. 

However, Lyft has struggled to regain its momentum, and posted a huge fourth-quarter loss.  Last month it offered a first-quarter outlook for revenue of $975 million and adjusted EBITDA between $5 million and $15 million, further disappointing investors. 

“There is no change to Lyft’s previously announced Q1 2023 revenue, Contribution Margin and Adjusted EBITDA outlook provided on February 9, 2023,” the company said in the statement announcing the leadership changes.. Lyft expects to report its Q1 2023 results in early May.