Ride-hailing company Ola has announced senior-level appointments for its UK Board. The company has appointed Mike Rake as Non-Executive Chairman, while global transport expert Leon Daniels has been roped in as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
Rake and Daniels will draw on deep experience across the private and public sectors to provide the strongest possible oversight, corporate governance, and strategic counsel to Ola as it continues to grow and scale, the company said in a release.
Ola launched in the UK in 2018 and has expanded rapidly since, successfully launching in London in February 2020.
Today, Ola operates across 27 local authorities, including Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. Since launching in the UK, Ola has further expanded its offering for UK riders, including launching Ola Corporate – a partnership with Gett. During the lockdown, Ola supported essential workers and local communities, delivering discounted rides to NHS staff and other critical Government workers as well as helping drivers by extending 0% commission in London for two months.
Diverse Experience
Rake joins Ola having previously served in a range of senior boardroom roles including as Chairman of Worldpay Group (2015-2018), BT Group (2007-2017), EasyJet (2010-2013) and International Chairman of KPMG (2002-2007), along with serving as President of the Confederation of British Industry (2013-2015).
Daniels, on the other hand, will bring his years of policy and regulatory experience in the global mobility industry to help Ola continue its strong growth in London and across the UK. He served as Managing Director, Surface Transport at Transport for London until 2017 and previously held the position of Commercial Director at UK Bus, overseeing new ventures in UK and international transport. In 2019, he was awarded an OBE for Services to Transport in recognition of his expertise and experience across the UK, Europe, and Asia.
Rake and Daniels will join Balasubrahmanyam Vijay Juturi, alongside Marc Rozendal (Managing Director, Ola UK) and Karl Lutzow (Operations Director, Ola UK) on the board of Ola UK.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said as a scaled, global business with a major presence in the UK, the appointment of such high-quality independent board members underlines Ola’s commitment to the UK and the scale of its ambition in this dynamic market.
“Ola is one of the most ambitious and innovative global technology companies and I am very pleased to be joining at this stage of its journey. The application of technology to mobility holds out an exciting future of cleaner, safer and more efficient transportation for millions of UK passengers, and I look forward to helping Ola continue to do what they do best – innovate for the benefit of society,” Rake said.