Will Shu

Will Shu
Born William Shu
December 1979 (age 38)
Connecticut, United States
Residence Notting Hill, London, England
Nationality American
Education Northwestern University
Wharton Business School
Known for co-founder and CEO of Deliveroo

William Shu (born December 1979) is an American businessman, the co-founder and CEO of Deliveroo, a British online food delivery company with operations spread across eighty-four cities.

Early life and education

He was born in December 1979,[1] in Connecticut, to Taiwanese parents.[2] In 2001, Shu received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University. His first job was with Morgan Stanley in New York as an investment banking analyst in 2001. Shu returned to the United States in 2010 to attend business school[3] and received an MBA from Wharton Business School in 2012.[4]

Career

Before founding Deliveroo, Shu worked as analyst for S.A.C. Capital Advisors and ESO Capital, and as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. He founded Deliveroo in 2013 with childhood friend and software engineer Greg Orlowski.[5][6] Shu had the idea to start Deliveroo while working in Morgan Stanley's London office and seeing the lack of delivery options while working late nights.[6][7] Shu worked as the company's first delivery person, delivering food every day for the first eight months in order to understand the customer experience.[8]

Deliveroo operated in London for the first two years, growing via word of mouth. In 2015, the company expanded internationally to Paris, Berlin and Dublin.[8] Deliveroo reached a valuation of more than £1.5 billion in November 2017, operating in 12 countries and more than 150 cities.[9][10]

In February 2016, Orlowski, who had been working as Deliveroo's chief technology officer, left "to spend more time with his wife in Chicago after the birth of their daughter".[11]

Shu famously continues to work shifts as a Deliveroo driver, delivering food around London every few weeks.[12]

Criticism

Shu received criticism for raising his personal salary to £125,000 a year, a 22.5% increase, amidst the employee dispute over workers’ status and company losses in 2016.[13] Administrative expenses, such as hiring new staff and a fancy new London office, multiplied from £28.8m to £142.2m, resulting in a large loss.[14] In addition, Shu gave out close to £4.5m in share bonuses to directors and hundreds of other head office staff.[13][15]

Deliveroo was one of many gig economy companies facing legal challenges over their business models in Britain. The case against Deliveroo involved 45 riders.[16]

Personal life

Shu is single and lives in Notting Hill, London.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "ROOFOODS LTD - Officers (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  2. ↑ Samuel Fishwick (2016-06-16). "Deliveroo founder Will Shu: 'We're part of the lexicon in this country". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  3. ↑ "Will Shu: From banker to founder Deliveroo | Startups". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  4. ↑ "William Shu". Crunchbase.com. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  5. ↑ "Introduction to Deliveroo" (PDF). European Commission. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Zoe Wood. "Deliveroo founder Will Shu drives company towards 'unicorn' status". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  7. ↑ WIRED. "Startup of the Week: Deliveroo". Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  8. 1 2 "Will Shu: From banker to founder Deliveroo | Startups". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  9. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "Food delivery upstart Deliveroo adds $98M to its Series F, now totals $480M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  10. ↑ "Will Shu, the founder of $2 billion Deliveroo, said an IPO is 'somewhat logical' for the company". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  11. ↑ Jamie Nimmo (2016-02-29). "Deliveroo loses co-founder and tech boss as Greg Orlowski quits | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  12. ↑ "Will Shu talks about the workers' rights litigation that threatens $2 billion Deliveroo". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  13. 1 2 Butler, Sarah (2017-09-21). "Deliveroo boss Will Shu gives himself 22.5% rise amid battle over riders' pay". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  14. ↑ Titcomb, James (2017-09-21). "Deliveroo revenues grow over 600pc but losses stack up". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  15. ↑ "Deliveroo: where's the money? – Corporate Watch". corporatewatch.org. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  16. ↑ "45 Deliveroo riders are taking legal action against the company over their employment status". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
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