Will Shu
Shu in 2016
Born
William Shu

December 1979 (age 44)
Connecticut, US
EducationNorthwestern University
Wharton Business School
Known forCo-founder and CEO, Deliveroo
Will Shu
Traditional Chinese許子祥
Simplified Chinese许子祥

William Shu (Chinese: 許子祥; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó͘ Chú-siông, born December 1979) is a UK-based American businessman, the co-founder and CEO of Deliveroo, an online food delivery company with operations spread across more than 200 cities in 11 countries.[1]

Early life

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

Career

Before founding Deliveroo, Shu worked as an 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]

Controversy

Shu received criticism for raising his personal salary to £125 000 a year, a 22.5 % increase, amidst a dispute over riders' status and company losses in 2016.[13] Administrative expenses, such as hiring new staff and a 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 workers companies facing legal challenges over the employment model of its delivery riders. Four court judgements, most recently a Court of Appeal's judgement in 2021, confirmed that Deliveroo's riders are self-employed independent contractors.[16]

Personal life

Shu lives in London.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "About Deliveroo". Official website of Deliveroo UK. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "ROOFOODS LTD - Officers (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Samuel Fishwick (16 June 2016). "Deliveroo founder Will Shu: 'We're part of the lexicon in this country". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Will Shu: From banker to founder Deliveroo | Startups". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  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 25 January 2017.
  7. ↑ WIRED. "Startup of the Week: Deliveroo". Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Will Shu: From banker to founder Deliveroo | Startups". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  9. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "Food delivery upstart Deliveroo adds $98M to its Series F, now totals $480M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Will Shu, the founder of $2 billion Deliveroo, said an IPO is 'somewhat logical' for the company". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Jamie Nimmo (29 February 2016). "Deliveroo loses co-founder and tech boss as Greg Orlowski quits | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. ↑ "Will Shu talks about the workers' rights litigation that threatens $2 billion Deliveroo". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  13. 1 2 Butler, Sarah (21 September 2017). "Deliveroo boss Will Shu gives himself 22.5% rise amid battle over riders' pay". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Titcomb, James (21 September 2017). "Deliveroo revenues grow over 600pc but losses stack up". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  15. ↑ "Deliveroo: where's the money? – Corporate Watch". corporatewatch.org. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  16. ↑ "UK Court of Appeal confirms Deliveroo riders are self employed". Reuters. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2022.

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