Dara Khosrowshahi confirms he will accept Uber CEO job (EXPE)

Uber’s pick for the CEO job, Dara Khosrowshahi, said on Tuesday that he planned to accept the offer, but that the contract was still being finalized.

In his first public comments since being selected to lead the embattled ride-hailing giant, Khosrowshahi told the Wall Street Journal that he would leave his current post as CEO of online travel service Expedia in order to seize a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.

Khosrowshahi told the Journal that Uber cofounder and former CEO Travis Kalanick will continue to be involved in the company, but he did not clarify in what capacity.

He described his relationship with Kalanick, who was forced to resign from the Uber CEO role in June amid a wave of scandals at the company, as “budding” and said there was “mutual respect.”

The 48-year-old Khosrowshahi will take the helm of the world’s most valuable privately-held tech startup, valued at roughly $69 billion by its investors. From Day One, he will have an incredibly tough job steering the ride-hailing company back to stability, after months of turmoil, executive departures and bitter infighting at the board level.