Uber Technologies has appointed Allan Fels, the former head of Australia's consumer watchdog, to its new global advisory board on public policy.
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The new board – which met in San Francisco this week and will meet twice annually – will seek to influence global debate on transportation issues and other policy areas. It is a paid position; Professor Fels will be compensated by receiving equity in the business, a spokesman said.
The app-enabled ride-hailing service has regularly been involved in skirmishes with regulators and incumbent taxi networks around the world, and is known for its fierce lobbying. Uber has also been hit with lawsuits from drivers, who are contractors rather than employees, and has been criticised by labour groups.
"For decades, transportation policy has played second fiddle to the likes of the economy, education and healthcare," Uber's chief adviser David Plouffe said in a statement provided to Fairfax Media announcing the new advisory board. "Yet transportation is key to all these areas of public policy."
Uber has raised $US8 billion ($10.5 billion) from investors and is valued at $US51 billion, according to CB Insights; this is the biggest valuation for a privately held technology firm. The company has not been afraid to flex its financial muscle and hire influential former politicians and regulators to policy roles.
Mr Plouffe was a former adviser and campaign strategist for United States President Barack Obama. Rachel Whetstone, its head of communications, was previously in a senior role at Google and before that an adviser to the former British Conservative opposition leader Michael Howard. Separately, the company appointed entrepreneur Arianna Huffington to its board of directors last week.
Mr Fels, a professorial fellow at Melbourne University, was formerly the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. He chaired an inquiry into the Victorian taxi industry that concluded in 2012. Other members of the new board include former European Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Ray LaHood, a former US transportation secretary.
Earlier this month, legislators in South Australia approved Uber's ridesharing service, UberX. It has also been approved in NSW and Western Australia.
