Watch Uber’s APAC head Pradeep Parameswaran open up about sustainable mobility for all at the Global Trends Festival 2020

• Global Trends Festival is one of the world's most prestigious events which will be live from Oct 19-23.
• While nobel laureates, some of the biggest political and corporate icons will provide thought leadership, it's a great platform to network with CXOs from around the world.
• Global Trends Festival 2020 is presented by AWS.
• Get your tickets now from BookMyShow.

Conversations about sustainability aren’t complete without addressing mobility. The fight against climate change on one hand and rapid urbanisation on the other, topped up with the challenges thrown by COVID, there are many lessons to be learnt from experiences in different countries.

And who better to ask than Pradeep Parameswaran, the man who has been battling changes across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for one of the world’s largest ride hailing apps, Uber.

Parameswaran has been spearheading many innovations including bringing in more electrical vehicles to tackle pollution and congestion in a market like India.

After the lockdown forced many Indians to stay indoors, the cab aggregator, like many others, was greatly affected. However, it also stayed true to its core of mobility and innovation and quickly extended Uber Medic service for frontline workers. It also launched Uber Connect to help move essential goods when people were stuck at homes in want of basic needs.

Quick pivots are not new for the Jamnalal Bajaj alumnus. Even at his earlier jobs, either as the CEO of DEN Networks or technology leader and partner at consultant McKinsey, he has always been advocating the role of technology in solving problems. Apart from mentoring and advising tech majors and startups alike, Parameswaran is also an active investor in startups.

Parameswaran also believes in the transformational power that technology can play in emerging markets. In his current role too, he has been actively bringing many changes to Uber’s offerings in India which is a ‘low fare market’ with hyperlocal solutions. Since then, Uber in India has expanded to autos, bikes, partnered with public transportation to aid multimodal commuting and going electric – while it has sold its food delivery business to Zomato and picked up an almost 10% stake in the latter.

Uber’s project of providing low-cost transportation that causes little damage to the environment has caught the fancy of many. At the Global Trends festival, Parameswaran will speak on sustainability and its renewed importance in a post-pandemic world.


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