Uber’s Leading Lawyer Will get 40% Pay out Strengthen Amid Authorized Victories
D. Anthony “Tony” West, the top law firm at Uber Systems Inc., noticed his complete payment soar by more than 40% in 2022 as he assisted the journey-sharing huge slice its lawful and regulatory payouts in half.
Uber disclosed in a proxy assertion Monday that West been given a pay out offer valued at more than $10.6 million very last year, up from the $7.4 million he earned in 2021. West, employed by Uber in 2017, served just take the San Francisco-primarily based enterprise community in 2019. Uber manufactured him a named govt officer the next yr, one particular in which his total compensation hit $12.3 million.
An Uber spokesman verified that the company appeared internally to change West’s former No. 2 in legal, Tammy Albarrán, who still left final year to grow to be the new leading attorney at Peloton Interactive Inc. Uber promoted deputy typical counsel Kathleen “Katie” Waitzman to succeed Albarrán as the company’s main deputy typical counsel. Waitzman has worked for Uber considering that 2015.
West’s total payment at Uber in 2022 bundled $800,000 in base income, far more than $2.3 million in non-fairness incentive approach money compensation, and almost $7.5 million in inventory awards. The company credited West with reducing “legal and regulatory payouts against reserves by 47% in 2022.”
Uber, in its rationale for West’s remuneration, mentioned he aided cut down its outdoors counsel commit previous yr by 25% and served the corporation crack down on about $100 million in system fraud losses even though prevention and restoration initiatives.
The enterprise also cited West’s part functioning with other senior executives in finishing strategic transactions and divestitures, these types of as the sale of Routematch, a software package company Uber obtained in 2020, and the $376 million sale of a minority stake in Indian foods shipping company Zomato.
Uber mentioned it greater West’s target reward last year—from $800,000 to $1.6 million— to assure that it was “competitive with other best legal officers inside of our peer group and to account for the notably complex and evolving authorized and regulatory environment in which we function.”
West, who has “overall responsibility” for that corporate perform, has become 1 of the most effectively-identified regulation office leaders of a US public business. The previous Morrison & Foerster husband or wife used six yrs in the Obama administration’s Justice Department, and has been a important figure in Uber’s interactions with politicians and regulators.
West told Bloomberg Legislation in 2020 that he does not examine Uber with possibly his most famous connection—his sister-in-regulation Vice President Kamala Harris. West also frequently speaks out about company ethics and other lawful and compliance troubles, which performed a purpose in Uber recruiting him from the top lawful task at PepsiCo Inc., which he joined in 2014.
At the time of his retain the services of, Uber was coping with the fallout from the ouster of co-founder and previous CEO Travis Kalanick. West assisted Uber navigate the turmoil stemming from that exit, and legal and regulatory hurdles that followed.
The business scored a big legal victory this month when an appellate courtroom in California dominated that Uber and other gig overall economy-targeted corporations can classify their workers as unbiased contractors.
