Good morning. Uber Technologies is seeing more turnover in its finance ranks.
The global rideshare giant announced on Wednesday that CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, who joined the company in November 2023, will step down on Feb. 16. He will be succeeded by Balaji Krishnamurthy, vice president of strategic finance. The change gives Uber three CFOs in just over three years.
Mahendra-Rajah will remain with Uber (No. 101 on the Fortune 500) as a senior finance advisor to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi through July 1. His separation will be treated as a qualifying termination under Uber’s Amended and Restated 2019 Executive Severance Plan, according to an SEC filing. Mahendra-Rajah succeeded Nelson Chai, who served as CFO from 2018 to 2023, helping lead Uber through its IPO and early post-IPO years. Chai is now the CEO of DailyPay.
During Uber’s earnings call on Wednesday, Mahendra-Rajah shared insight into his departure, explaining that over the holidays, he reflected on Uber’s progress, including delivering strong growth at scale, achieving investment-grade status, and returning significant cash to shareholders.
“At the same time, a new opportunity presented itself, where I could serve America and give back to the country that has given me and my family so much,” he said. “I look forward to sharing more on that soon.”
On the call, Khosrowshahi said Mahendra-Rajah has been “a great partner to me, and the management team,” pointing to his role in getting Uber to investment-grade status, spearheading its first share repurchase program, and steering the company through several acquisitions.
Khosrowshahi described Krishnamurthy as someone who “knows Uber’s business inside and out and is a brilliant, decisive strategist,” adding that he has worked closely with him and the management team for years. Krishnamurthy joined Uber in 2019 and has led strategic finance since 2023, after heading investor relations from 2020 to 2023.
The average tenure for CFOs at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies is about 4.7 years, down from 5.3 years in 2015 and 4.9 years in 2020, according to executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates, which notes that the CFO role carries increasing demands.
Uber’s latest finance leadership change comes as the company accelerates its autonomous vehicle and robotaxi ambitions. Krishnamurthy, who also serves on the board of Waabi, a Toronto-based AI firm developing self-driving software, will help support Uber’s expansion in that area. Waabi recently raised $1 billion and partnered with Uber to deploy at least 25,000 robotaxis on its platform, Fortune reported.
Khosrowshahi said Uber enters 2026 with “a rapidly growing topline, significant cash flow, and a clear path to becoming the largest facilitator of AV trips in the world.”
Uber’s Q4 2025 results showed 200 million monthly users and 20% year-over-year revenue growth to $14.4 billion, its largest consumer base yet. Still, Q1 2026 guidance for gross bookings ($52–$53.5 billion) and adjusted EBITDA ($2.37–$2.47 billion) came in below Wall Street expectations, sending shares down about 5% to the mid-$70s.
Wedbush Securities maintained a Neutral rating and reduced its price target to $75, arguing that investors overestimate Uber’s long-term advantage as autonomous vehicles gain scale. The firm sees Waymo and Tesla leading in the U.S., putting an estimated 30% of Uber’s U.S. mobility bookings and 25% of profits—mostly from top metro markets—at risk of AV disruption.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
Loek Beckers was promoted to SVP and CFO of McDonald’s USA, (No. 165), effective March 1. Beckers will report to Ian Borden, McDonald's global CFO. Beckers started at McDonald’s in April 2024 as SVP of corporate finance, and oversees the corporate controller group, financial planning and analysis, and global tax, treasury and insurance teams. He came to McDonald’s from General Motors, where he held segment CFO roles for GM’s International operations and GM’s China joint venture operations, as well as several corporate finance roles.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves
Fernando Castro-Caratini was appointed interim CFO of Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE: SUI), a real estate investment trust, effective immediately. He succeeds Mark E. Patten, who has departed from the company. Patten’s departure was a mutual decision and is not the result of any disagreements related to the company’s financial policies, according to the announcement. Sun Communities is conducting a search for a permanent CFO. Castro-Caratini, who joined the company in 2016, has been serving as a senior advisor to Sun Communities and previously served as its CFO.
Eric Shultz was promoted to CFO and principal accounting officer of SIFCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE American: SIF), a maker of components and machined assemblies for aircraft and engine manufacturers, effective February 20. He will succeed Jennifer Wilson, who has resigned, according to an SEC filing. Shultz is currently director of strategy and administration and has more than 25 years of finance experience. He was formerly the CFO of Bowden Manufacturing Corp. Earlier in his career, he served as CFO of Core Systems, LLC, Homestead Capital, LLC, and director of finance of the Blue Coral/Slick 50 Division of Quaker State Corporation.
Big Deal
"A Proxy Odyssey: What Will 2030 U.S. Proxy Season Look Like?" is a new article by Teneo. It argues that corporate governance is undergoing a transformation and that the 2030 U.S. proxy season will be fundamentally different from anything companies have faced before. The article outlines five key predictions for the future of proxy voting. For example, it suggests that AI voting systems are likely to replace traditional proxy advisors and explores the implications of proprietary AI models and how companies source and process proxy data. Teneo also offers advice on how to prepare for a more complex and less predictable shareholder landscape.
Going deeper
"Alphabet plans to double capex spending to a possible $185 billion—but it’s keeping CEO Sundar Pichai up at night" is a Fortune article by Amanda Gerut.
Gerut writes: "During Alphabet's Wednesday fourth quarter earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai and chief financial officer Anat Ashkenazi revealed that the $4 trillion tech giant will spend between $175 billion to $185 billion in capex in 2026, possibly doubling the $91.4 billion it spent in 2025 and a far cry from the $52.5 billion spent as recently as 2024. In Q4 alone, Alphabet’s capex investment reached $27.9 billion. The move is part of what Pichai described as maintaining a brutal pace to compete in AI." Read more here.
Overheard
“They are part of a media leadership succession dream team, groomed from within in a classic succession process of trial assignments that led to proven competence and credibility.”
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, professor and founder of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, and Stephen Henriques, a senior research fellow, write in a Fortune opinion piece about Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger announcing the promotions of Josh D’Amaro to CEO and Dana Walden to president and chief creative officer.
