Ride hailing major Uber has appointed Nelson J. Chai, a former executive at Merrill Lynch and CIT Group, as its chief financial officer. 

The job had been vacant since Brent Callinicos departed in 2015. Nelson’s appointment comes at a crucial time for Uber as the company has said it plans to go public by the end of 2019. This is likley to be one of the biggest-ever technology IPOs. 

Uber is one of the most highly valued private companies in the world, at $62 Bn. Yet as it continues to grow, it has been burning through money. Last week, it posted a loss of $891 Mn for the second quarter, which was slightly narrower than a year earlier. 

Dara Khosrowshahi, who joined Uber as chief executive last year, said of Nelson’s appointment, “He will be a great partner for me and the entire management team as we move towards becoming a public company.” 

Prior to this, Nelson was the chief executive of Warranty Group, a Chicago-based insurance provider, which was sold to Assurant for $2.5 Bn last October. He has also overseen other initial public offerings, including that of the digital trading firm Archipelago in 2004.

Image Credits: The New York Times