Deliveroo founder Will Shu will step down as chief executive of the food delivery company after its acquisition by US competitor DoorDash.
In May, DoorDash agreed to acquire Deliveroo for £2.9bn as part of its European expansion strategy, with the deal set to complete on 2 October.
Shu co-founded Deliveroo in London in 2013 with his childhood friend Greg Orlowski. The company now operates in nine countries and reported its first profit in 2024, following a £32m loss the previous year.
The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 with a valuation of £7.9bn—over twice its current sale price.
Shu said: 'I have decided that now is the right time for me to step down. Taking Deliveroo from being an idea to what it is today has been amazing. Today the company’s growth and profitability are accelerating and we are delivering on our mission to transform the way people shop and eat, but after 13 years I want to contemplate my next challenge.'
'Our teams have always seen the business through the eyes of the consumer and that consumer obsession has given us focus, drive and resilience. I want to thank everyone involved in the company, from our employees to our merchant partners, riders, consumers, as well as our investors. This is the start of a new chapter for the company and great things lie ahead.'
Shu will step down along with chair Claudia Arney and non-executive directors, including Café Rouge founder Karen Jones, Peter Jackson, Rick Medlock, Shobie Ramakrishnan, Tom Stafford, and Dominique Reiniche, once the deal is finalised.
Arney said: 'Will is an incredible innovator and has brought a unique mix of passion, vision and commitment to the creation and growth of Deliveroo. He has created a British success story that has had a hugely positive impact on the way we eat and shop, provided a new form of work for tens of thousands of people and helped thousands of restaurants and other merchants grow their businesses - both here and around the world.'
DoorDash’s acquisition of Deliveroo will form a combined business with operations in more than 40 countries.
DoorDash said the merger would enable both companies to capitalise on their strengths: Deliveroo has excelled in serving cities and major urban hubs, while DoorDash has traditionally focused on urban, suburban, and rural markets.
In March, Deliveroo announced it would exit Hong Kong and sell selected assets to Singapore-based rival Foodpanda, after concluding it could not achieve “a sustainable and profitable scale without considerable financial investment.”