Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) selected Elaine Paul, a former executive at Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), as its new chief financial officer on Thursday, succeeding Brian Roberts, who is stepping down after seven years in the position.
Paul will start his new job on January 3rd. She is the CFO and vice president of Amazon Studios, the company’s film, and web series production arm.
The transition comes at a time when Lyft and rival Uber (UBER.N) are attempting to cut costs to make up for a decline in ridership and a lack of drivers due to the pandemic.
“There will be no spoilers today, but I have found an exciting frontier opportunity with mission-driven founders focused on serving their community,” Roberts said in a LinkedIn post.
Roberts’ departure, according to Lyft, is not the consequence of a conflict or disagreement with the company or its board of directors.
“Brian has made a significant impact on Lyft over the last seven years. Lyft went public and achieved adjusted EBITDA (profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) profitability with his help and leadership – two crucial milestones “Logan Green, Lyft’s co-founder and CEO, stated as follows:
Paul, 54, was the CFO of Hulu for six years before joining Amazon, and she spent 19 years at Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) in key finance, strategy, and business development roles.
Lyft said Roberts will stay on as an adviser until June 2022 to help with the transition.
