Former BCG'er Laureline Serieys leads Uber in France

Former Boston Consulting Group (BCG) advisor Laureline Serieys has taken over as General Manager at Uber France, bringing nearly two decades of professional experience to the role.

Serieys was at Boston Consulting Group between 2005 and 2011, serving several sectors during the time and making her way up the ranks to Project Leader. She left the global management consultancy to join Google as Strategic Partner Manager in 2011. Towards the end of a 4-year spell at Google, Serieys was the Industry Head of the firm’s Retail practice, specialising in digital transformations for a vast pool of clients.

Following three years as Group Chief Digital Officer at Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance, Serieys took over as General Manager of Uber’s electronic scooter subsidiary – Jump, in France and Benelux. As global e-scooter demand plummeted in the wake of the crisis, Jump was offloaded to Lime bikes back in May, while Serieys has been appointed to take the reins of Uber’s entire French operation.

Effective from 1st August, she replaced Steve Salom, who has been at Uber for more than six years, and has been the General Manager for Uber France, Switzerland and Austria since 2016. Thibaud Simphal, Regional General Manager for Western and Southern Europe at Uber, welcomed Serieys to the firm.

“I warmly thank Steve Salom for his commitment and leadership which had a major impact, and I am very happy to welcome Laureline Serieys to head of our mobility service in France. France is a historic country for Uber in which we want to continue investing in the service of cities and more sustainable shared mobility. Laureline's rich and varied experience makes her the ideal person to write this new chapter,” he said. 

Serieys takes over at a highly challenging time for Uber, as fear of infection since the start of Covid-19 has dented the demand for shared mobility services. Uber has reported a loss of nearly $3 billion globally in the first quarter of this year, while 15% of its global headcount – 3,700 people – has been cut since May.

Only the firm’s food aggregator delivery platform Uber Eats has managed to keep operations strong – testament to shifting consumer preferences and the growing reliance on digital channels. Serieys will have to lead the French operation through this challenging period, while simultaneously preparing for mobility needs of the future.

“It is with increased energy that I will develop alongside the teams solutions that meet the most essential mobility needs of our users in a reliable, competitive and sustainable manner. Our goal is, more than ever, to contribute to the city of tomorrow by offering an alternative to the private car while offering new economic opportunities, and this, in continuous dialogue with the drivers and all stakeholders in the ecosystem,” she said.