Lyft shakes up top-level management, hires former Amazon executive David Risher as next CEO

The big picture: Lyft has announced a major leadership shift that’ll see a former Amazon and Microsoft executive take over as chief executive. It’s not surprising considering the company has had a rough go of it as of late. Share value in the mobility specialist slid nearly 75 percent over the last 12 months. It seemed like the company might be back on the road to recovery earlier this year but the stock took another massive hit when Lyft announced its Q4 22 and fiscal 2022 results, which were highlighted by substantial losses.

The mobility specialist said co-founder and CEO Logan Green will transition from his full-time executive position to serve as chair of the Lyft board effective April 17, 2023. Fellow co-founder John Zimmer, who currently serves as company president, is also stepping down and will become vice chair of the board on June 30.

Green will be replaced by David Risher, a seasoned tech executive that spent time at Microsoft before leaving to become Amazon’s 37th employee and help Jeff Bezos transform the company from an online bookstore to a global e-commerce powerhouse.

(From left to right: Logan Green, David Risher, John Zimmer)

Risher left Amazon in 2002 but Bezos was so grateful for his contributions that he set up an Easter egg to reside on Amazon’s website in perpetuity in his honor. It’s still visible today although I can’t figure out how to access it from the main page.

Risher, who joined Lyft’s board in July 2021, will take over as chief executive on April 17. The company said his selection was the result of a thorough search by the board and a leading executive search firm.

Lyft said Green and Zimmer will help with the transfer of responsibilities to Risher. Current board chair Sean Aggarwal will now serve as lead independent director, we’re told.

Risher said he was gobsmakced when he was first asked to consider the CEO role but the more he thought about it, the more he came around to the idea. “I realized that the competitive spirit I learned at Microsoft, the customer obsession I learned at Amazon, and the do-more-with-less lessons I learned leading Worldreader are exactly what Lyft needs right now,” Risher added.