Grab's co-founder will step down by year end, role to transition to an advisory one

Ride-hailing platform Grab's co-founder, Tan Hooi Ling, will be stepping down from her operating roles at the company and will see her position transition into an advisory role by the end of the year, according to Grab in a statement. 

This transition will also see her stepping down from her role as a member of Grab’s Board of Directors, a role she has held since the company's public listing in December 2021. 

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Tan co-founded Grab with Anthony Tan, the company's group CEO, in 2012, and worked at other companies in the US before rejoining Grab in April 2015.

In her role, Tan led various operations and technology teams as COO until the appointment of Alex Hungate in January 2022. She currently leads Grab’s technology organization, and is mentoring the next generation of technology leaders, including Suthen Thomas, Grab’s group chief technology officer, and Philipp Kandal, its chief product officer. 

“I have enormous respect and love for Tan, as both a business partner and a good friend. We set the vision to build a double, now triple, bottom line company together, and I am so blessed to have found a true partner who cares deeply about the impact we create for Grabbers, our partners and our region," said Anthony Tan.

Tan has invested herself fully into setting up the right leadership bench and cultural foundations for Grab to thrive for the long-term, and while I will miss working with her dearly, I thank her for the many years of trust and partnership, and wholeheartedly support her decision to pursue her personal passions," he continued. 

Adding on, Tan Hooi Ling said, "Grab has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. The impact we create is a reflection of who we are as a team, and I am humbled to have been able to walk alongside Tan and the many amazing Grabbers who share the same values and work ethic to build something that improves lives in Southeast Asia.”

"People who know me well know that I am an adventurer at heart, and there are many other personal passions that I have put aside to build Grab with Tan. With the strong leadership bench we currently have, I believe now is the right time for me to pass on the baton to our next generation of leaders, and to pursue these other passions. I look forward to seeing how Thomas, our first engineering leader who understands the nuts and bolts of Grab and the region, and Kandal, an entrepreneurial and customer-centric product leader, take our technology teams to greater heights,” she added.

The Nominating Committee of the Board will be reviewing potential candidates to supplement the Board later this year and Grab will make a further announcement regarding the changes to its Board of Directors in due course.

The news comes shortly after the platform published its latest unaudited financial results and reported that there is strong revenue growth for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December 2022. Grab's revenue for 2022 and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2022's second half also surpassed expectations. 

The main results are shown in the following: 

• Q4 2022 revenue grew by 310% year-over-year to US$502 million and 2022 revenue grew by 112% year-over-year to US$1.433 million.
• Q4 2022 gross merchandise value (GMV) grew 11% year-over-year to US$5 billion, and 2022 GMV grew by 24% year-over-year to US$19.9 billion.
• Q4 2022 loss for the period improved by 64% year-over-year to US$391 million, with 2022's loss for the year improving by 51% year-over-year to US$1.740 million.
• Group adjusted EBITDA breakeven guidance brought forward to the fourth quarter of 2023 from the second half of 2024.

Grab achieved these results by focusing on capturing the rebound in mobility demand, optimising its costs, reducing its cost-to-serve and innovating products and services that drive stickiness and engagement within its ecosystem, said Anthony Tan, group chief executive officer and co-founder of Grab. "As we look ahead, we will remain laser-focused on driving sustainable growth and improving the efficiency of our ecosystem."

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