U.S President Donald Trump is steadily bulking up and handing out significant roles under his administration. According to a report in Reuters, the President is now looking to nominate Lyft’s general manager Derek Kan to join the Department of Transportation as undersecretary of transportation for policy.
Prior to taking up the role of general manager at Uber’s fiercest rival, Kan was appointed as the policy advisor to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who coincidently is the husband of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. This was during the 2006 and 2010 period. He then spent a good couple or more years consulting at Elliott Management followed by Bain & Company. He’s been working with Lyft for about two years and has also on the board of transportation giant Amtrak for around a year.
Commenting on the speculations, a Lyft spokesperson said,
Derek is a valued member of our team and we wish him luck in whatever path he chooses.
This is a significant development for ride-hailing giant Lyft, who’s executive would most likely be nominated to join the department of transportation. Kan will be responsible for offering policy guidance to the department as it regulates the country’s vehicles, airplanes, railroads, pipelines, ports, and highways. The new administration still has a number of prominent decisions to delve into, such as the regulations for use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for delivery purposes or simplification of self-driving laws.
At the transportation department, the policymaking position is just one of the many positions that the administration is looking to fill in the coming weeks. It will soon be nominating the head of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well.
This development comes on the heels of Lyft’s recent fundraising activity, where it has picked up at least $500 million at the massive valuation of $7.5 billion. With Uber being caught up in a string of controversies over the last couple of weeks, Lyft is trying to one up the competition accommodate the consumers making a switch to their platform after the #DeleteUber campaign. Also, Uber founder and CEO recently quit Trump’s advisory council, which may have affected this decision in the hindsight.
