Deliveroo COO steps down ahead of takeover deal
Deliveroo chief operating officer Eric French has stepped down from his post weeks after the delivery platform received a £2.9bn takeover offer from US rival DoorDash.
Deliveroo chief operating officer Eric French has stepped down from his post just weeks after the company received a £2.9bn takeover offer from US rival DoorDash.
French joined the delivery platform in 2021 as its chief marketplace officer and was promoted to COO in 2022.
Sharing the news on LinkedIn, the outgoing executive said: “Things have been in the works since last fall when Will (Shu) and I first had a discussion about my desire to explore my next chapter.
“Even with a long transition, moments like this still sneak up on you.”
Reflecting on when he first joined Deliveroo in January 2021, French noted that it was ” a funny combination of unrecognizably different and exactly the same”.
“When I joined, we were a private company in hyper-investment mode, delivering almost entirely restaurant food in the middle of Covid lockdowns,” he said.
“Fast forward to today – we are a free cash flow positive, public company with significantly more process and discipline (still room to go!) delivering everything from burgers to £205 power tools.”
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“I’m proud of what the Deliveroo team has delivered over the past 4 years, and it’s been an incredible opportunity to have been a part of it.”
The announcement comes weeks after Deliveroo recommended its shareholders agree to the £2.9bn takeover offer from US rival DoorDash.
The deal is designed to expand the DoorDash brand into Europe for the first time and strengthen Deliveroo’s market share amid increasing competition from UberEats and JustEat.
Deliveroo founder Will Shu is set for £172m payout and the company’s employees will receive a near £66m windfall if the deal goes ahead.
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