Uber's controversial NYC manager is leaving the company
But on Tuesday, the controversial yet steadfast manager announced he was leaving Uber after five years to join Tusk Ventures - the NYC firm that helped Uber lobby to stay in the city.
In his place, three-year Uber veteran Sarfraz Maredia will be overseeing the company's operations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, an Uber spokesperson said. The company declined to comment on Mohrer's departure.
Mohrer's role in one of Uber's largest markets was a crucial one. During his tenure, the company launched UberX, brought taxis into the app, launched UberRush, and expanded the service from Manhattan to the Hamptons, Jersey Shore, and Connecticut, as he noted in a farewell post on Medium.
"I give my Uber ride "5-stars" and am so grateful for the opportunity Travis gave me to join the team and change the world," Mohrer wrote. "Getting to know and work closely with Travis has been the highlight of my career so far.
Mohrer also used Uber's "God View" tool in 2014 to track a BuzzFeed journalist while awaiting her arrival. His actions resulted in an investigation by the New York Attorney General into Uber's privacy policies, which the company settled in July 2016.
And Mohrer was at the center of "Operation Slog", a scheme in which Uber's New York team called and canceled rides from competitors to hinder their business. In an article published Tuesday, Mohrer told TechCrunch Slog was a "mistake" that he regrets.
Mohrer will now be taking the skills he honed fighting New York's attempts to limit Uber to Tusk Ventures, a strategy firm that's worked with Uber since its early days. Tusk Ventures advises startups on their regulatory challenges in exchange for equity in those companies.
"Tusk Ventures invests time and capital helping startups thrive in heavily regulated markets," Mohrer wrote. "They are working with some of the most innovative companies and already experiencing incredible results. Like Uber, some of the most exciting opportunities in tech are in industries where laws never considered the impact of having networked supercomputers in our pockets."