Uber is losing a top legal staffer in its Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. Jim Callaghan, the EMEA general counsel for a little more than a year, has stepped down, the company confirmed to Recode.
Uber’s general counsel of Europe, the Middle East and Africa has stepped down
Jim Callaghan was at the company for a little more than a year and is leaving to focus on family, according to Uber.
Before Uber, Callaghan held the same role at Etihad Airways for seven years. Prior to that, he was the director of legal and regulatory affairs at Ryanair.
Callaghan’s departure comes just as the ride-hail company was delivered a regulatory blow in Europe where the continent’s highest court determined Uber was a transportation service, not just a digital platform. As a result, Uber will have to continue to comply with the safety laws that apply to the taxi industry.
It also comes at a time when the EMEA region is increasingly important for the company as it faces steep competition in places like India and after it pulled out of China late last year.
Have more information or any tips? Johana Bhuiyan is the senior transportation editor at Recode and can be reached at johana@recode.net or on Signal, Confide, WeChat or Telegram at 516-233-8877. You can also find her on Twitter at @JmBooyah.
The company is in the midst of shuffling its overall legal team and is seeking a new company general counsel. Salle Yoo, who currently holds the role, will become the chief legal counselor, focusing less on the day-to-day and more on company culture.
Callaghan is just the latest in a string of executive shuffles or departures. In addition to Yoo, Uber’s head of self-driving, Anthony Levandowski, has publicly taken a back seat on the autonomous operations as the company navigates the lawsuit Alphabet levied against it. Uber also recently lost President Jeff Jones, VP of Communications and Policy Rachel Whetstone, VP of Product Ed Baker and SVP of Engineering Amit Singhal, among others.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
