Uber appoints Pradeep Parameswaran as head of central operations

San Francisco-based ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. has hired former DEN Networks chief executive Pradeep Parameswaran as head of central operations.

"We are excited to have Pradeep Parameswaran join Uber India as the Head of Central Operations. Pradeep is passionate about technology-led transformation and brings a wealth of experience having worked for companies across the technology value chain," said an Uber spokesperson in an e-mailed response to TechCircle.in.

Uber India declined to provide further details on Parameswaran's new role.

Parameswaran comes to Uber with more than 15 years of experience in companies such as cable TV distribution company DEN Networks Pvt Ltd, consultancy firm McKinsey & Co and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd, his LinkedIn profile shows.

Parameswaran is an engineering graduate from the University of Mumbai and holds a business administration degree in operations from Vanderbilt University.

The development was first reported by The Economic Times.

Uber has been rapidly increasing its headcount in India. In September 2016, Pradeep Desu, head of recruitment at Uber India, told TechCircle.in that the number of employees has grown almost eight times over the past year, from 80 to more than 600 at that time.

Last week, Uber appointed former Google search head Amit Singhal as senior vice president of engineering. Singhal will head the maps and marketplace departments at Uber, and advise chief executive Travis Kalanick and VP of engineering and Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski on the company's self-driving technology.

Uber mainly competes with ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates Ola, in India. Ola is also beefing up its leadership team. Earlier this week, the company appointed Vishal Kaul as chief operating officer. The previous incumbent Pranay Jivrajka was made a founding partner.