優步國際擴張業務高管即將離職

The Uber executive in charge of international expansion is leaving the company, as part of a broader shake-up of the taxi-hailing app as it struggles with regulatory difficulties in Europe and fundraising in China.

優步(Uber)負責國際擴張的高管即將離職，這是該公司大規模重組的一部分。這個叫車應用公司正在艱難應對歐洲的監管問題和中國的融資問題。

Niall Wass, senior vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific, was seen as co-founder Travis Kalanick’s most senior executive outside the US. He will leave the company at the end of the year.

優步負責歐洲、中東和非洲以及亞太業務的高級副總裁尼爾茠斯(Niall Wass)，原本被視爲聯合創始人特拉維斯慍灓尼克(Travis Kalanick)在美國以外的最資深高管。沃斯將在今年年底離開公司。

Mr Wass’s departure comes after the company underwent a large restructuring over the summer. Various international business units were brought under a single global umbrella run from San Francisco by Ryan Graves, senior vice-president of Uber’s global operations, according to people familiar with the matter.

沃斯是在優步今年夏季進行大規模重組後決定離職的。知情人士稱，各個國際業務部門被整合到一個全球傘形結構之下，由優步負責全球業務的高級副總裁瑞安格雷夫斯(Ryan Graves)在舊金山進行管理。

Mr Wass, who previously reported directly to Mr Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, was offered a new role reporting to Mr Graves, but declined the opportunity.

沃斯早先直接向優步首席執行官卡蘭尼克彙報工作，後被轉至一個向格雷夫斯彙報工作的新職位，但他拒絕接受。

He joined Uber in June 2014, following a six-month tenure as the chief executive of Wonga, the controversial payday lender that was under severe regulatory scrutiny at the time.

沃斯在2014年6月加入優步，此前在Wonga擔任了6個月的首席執行官。Wonga是一家充滿爭議的“發薪日貸款機構”，當時正接受監管機構的嚴格審查。

Uber said: “Our international business has had hyper-growth with Niall behind the wheel.. contribution goes beyond the business, to the team and culture he has built across the world. His journey will take him elsewhere next year and we wish him well in his future endeavours.”

優步表示：“我們的國際業務在尼爾掌舵下取得了高速增長……尼爾的貢獻不僅體現在業務上，還體現在他在世界各地創建的團隊和文化上。他明年將在別處開始新的征程，我們祝願他未來工作順利。”

Mr Wass declined to comment on the circumstances of his departure, saying only: “Like any executive, I may explore any opportunities but right now I’m still at Uber.”

沃斯拒絕就其離職情況置評，他只是表示：“與所有高管一樣，我可以探索一切機遇，但現在我仍在優步。”

People familiar with the matter said Mr Wass had been “under a lot of pressure from Travis” due to concerns over the app’s international rollout.

知情人士表示，沃斯承受着“來自特拉維斯的巨大壓力”，原因是該應用的國際業務有些令人擔心的地方。

Mr Wass also oversaw fundraising efforts for Uber’s Chinese unit since June at a pre-money valuation of $7bn. In September, Uber said it had closed $1.2bn as part of that round, and was still raising funds.

沃斯還負責優步中國部門自6月以來的融資工作，這次融資對該部門的投資前估值(pre-money valuation)爲70億美元。今年9月，優步表示已在這次融資中募集到12億美元，而且仍在募集資金。

A person familiar with these efforts said Uber’s US executives considered the effort to be “expensive”, with the Chinese unit raising less money than had been expected.

知情人士表示，優步在美國的高管們認爲這次努力“代價昂貴”，中國部門籌集的資金低於預期。