Uber accused of running secret competitive intelligence unit

Uber has been accused of operating a sophisticated unit dedicated to “stealing trade secrets”, the latest in a litany of
damaging allegations against the ride-hailing app that has forced a boardroom shake-up and hit its valuation. The
new revelations were made in a high-stakes $1.8bn court battle with Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet, in
which Uber is accused of stealing confidential technology for its own autonomous car projects.

The testimony, offered in court on Tuesday during a pre-trial hearing, suggests the dispute with Google’s parent
company may be part of a wider effort by Uber to improperly draw on work done by its rivals. The judge in the
lawsuit, William Alsup, postponed the trial following the testimony, originally contained in a letter from Richard
Jacobs, Uber’s former manager of global intelligence, saying it would “contradict a lot of things that [Uber’s law firm]
and a lot of lawyers seated at the table have represented to me”.

“Any company that would set up a surreptitious system is just as suspicious as can be,” Judge Alsup said. “You’re just
making the impression that this is a total cover-up.” An Uber spokesperson said: “None of the testimony today
changes the merits of the case. Jacobs himself said on the stand today that he was not aware of any Waymo trade
secrets being stolen.” Ed Russo, an Uber security employee, denied allegations made in the letter that the company
had used underhand methods to obtain corporate intelligence. “It’s never been our role or my role to engage in a
theft of trade secrets,” the senior risk and threat analyst told the court. “We never recruited sources within
competitor organisations.”

The judge was informed by the US attorney’s office that it believed the unit’s existence amounted to crucial evidence
that had been withheld from the case. Mr Jacobs, who split from Uber earlier this year having reached a $4.5m
settlement, described sophisticated techniques that the company used to evade current and future legal discovery
requests.

Mr Jacobs told the court his agreement with Uber included payments to “assist” an internal investigation that arose
from the allegations in his letter. Although Mr Jacobs was not directly involved in the transaction at the centre of the
Waymo-Uber lawsuit, his letter surfaced as part of a separate criminal investigation.

Uber is facing at least five federal investigations into various aspects of its business practices, including one into
possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and one into its competitive intelligence practices.The new
development comes at a sensitive time for Uber, which is in the middle of a complex investment deal with a
SoftBank-led consortium. SoftBank has decided to offer to buy Uber shares from existing shareholders at a valuation
of $48bn, according to people close to the deal, representing a 30 per cent haircut from the ride-hailing group’s
previous fundraising. SoftBank will also invest $1bn at the higher $68.5bn valuation.

The decision to offer a lower price came after Uber revealed it made ransom payments to a hacker for a data breach
that occurred in 2016, and a decision by London to bar the service because of safety issues. In his testimony, Mr
Jacobs said he was aware that an intelligence unit at Uber was implementing “encrypted and ephemeral
communications intended to both protect and destroy communications that might be considered sensitive”, and that
employees were instructed to make “phone calls or video calls”, treating email as “a last resort”. Mr Jacobs alleged
that the legal director for Uber’s threat operations team had “described the need to protect sensitive information
and ensure we didn’t create a paper trail that could come back to haunt the company in any potential criminal or
civil litigation”.

Source: Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/386f07ee-d45e-11e7-a303-9060cb1e5f44

Why Does Good Strategy Matter to the Bottom Line?

Strategy is fundamental to the success and sustainability of all organizations. It is about seizing opportunities and
knowing which not to pursue, all while mitigating risk. Develop a Marketing strategy that stands the best chance of
delivering on your current and FUTURE performance, productivity, and profit targets. A good strategy is designed to
drive long-term growth and profit. Creating a strategy requires understanding your company, industry, customers,
and competition. Members of the C-Suite recognize the value of developing and executing on a strategy and market
performance. The business environment is fluid with technological, social, and political change occurring with
increased frequency. Successful businesses realize that achieving growth while adapting to the rate of change and
staying in tune with the market requires staying strategically nimble. There is no mistaking the growth mandate
facing the C-Suite. The CMO Council and Deloitte study found that 70% of CEOs expect CMOs to lead this effort. Yet
according the study, just 1 in 6 of the 200 participating CMOs reported spending a lot of their time teaming with
leadership executives on global business and strategy. As a Marketing leader, if you’re not participating in the
conversation about strategy, you’re not filling the requirements of your role.

Strategy: The Most Important Choice Your Business Will Ever Make

Entrepreneurial resource Gaebler suggests good business strategy should inspire company expansion and enable you
to explore business opportunities outside of your standard business practice. Customer insights, competitive
intelligence, market research, and a clear understanding of your ecosystem, are all important considerations in
strategy development. Armed with insights from your research, experience and expertise in the market and with
your customers, you can explore new ideas for your company that enable you to find, keep, and grow the value of
your customers and maintain or increase your competitive advantage. Your strategy is the backdrop against which
you determine which opportunities to pursue – or just as importantly, which not to pursue; which operations to
develop or streamline; and what skills your organization needs. Organizations develop strategies designed to protect
and/or gain market share and to identify the opportunities that will yield the greatest return. Formulation of your
strategy requires you to be acutely aware of, and prepared for, changing customer needs and potential shifts in your
market. For most organizations, resources are finite. Your strategy dictates what resources, offers/services,
operations, and capabilities are needed. When well-formulated, your strategy is an engine for increased productivity.
Without clarity of strategy, your team is at risk of aimlessly moving from one activity to another.

How to Bring Your Strategy to Life

A common output of your strategy is a strategic plan. Typically, a strategic plan outlines how the strategy will be
achieved and specifies how desired results are expected to be achieved. These are often referred to as the strategic
initiatives. The strategic initiatives are the basis for your organizations business outcomes. The plan clarifies the
vision and increases the alignment across the organization. It serves as the reference point for decision making and
the foundation for each of your functions’ outcome-based measurable plan. It is our belief that a strategic plan is one
of the most valuable efforts and assets for every organization. Your strategic plan focuses on your future. It is about
what you will proactively do to create, deploy and measure your success.

The Roadmap to the Best Strategic Plan

In the mid-1990’s, Arthur Andersen conducted a survey which found that companies with a written strategic plan had
63% higher revenue growth and 100% more profit than those companies without a plan. A more current study by
The Alternative Board (TAB) reported that three-quarters of the businesses surveyed believe that a written strategic
plan causes their business to perform at a higher level. Ready to start planning? Check out our two-day interactive
session Planning for Profitability workshop to develop your strategic plan.

Source: Retrieved from ttps://www.business2community.com/strategy/good-strategy-matter-bottom-line-

NexusTours announces implementation of the new Strategic Plan Nexus 2.0

CANCUN, Mexico, Dec. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NexusTours has just presented its Strategic Plan 2018-2020.
This defines its strategy to convert current regional leadership in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America to
global status as experts in providing and distributing touristic products and services. “In February 2014, we launched
a foundational strategic plan. This has guided us in 2017 to be the leading company in the region with presence in 15
countries and 47 destinations. At the same time we have built a team of dedicated and professional people, which
has successfully reached all goals and objectives. As we close this stage, the icing on the cake has been our achieving
and surpassing of all that was expected of us.

However, our vision and the market’s fast evolution, calls for us to adapt our strategy and update our planning. We’re
taking some new steps towards the future consolidating our leadership at a regional level, whilst at the same being
increasingly more relevant in the market which will convert us into a global operator,” affirms Ruben Gutierrez
(Managing Director). Starting November 1st, 2017, and after many months of analysis and planning, NexusTours
begins a new era to evolve into a new version: Nexus 2.0. The plan is based upon 3 strategic pillars: sustainable
growth, value creation and diversification. It aims to triplicate the company’s size in only 3 years.

This objective in mind, NexusTours has also reorganized its directive team with the creation of an Executive
Committee denominated NexCo and comprised by 5 members. Their mission will be to execute the strategic plan,
boost and streamline decision making, and follow up on results and monitor target achieving. In its bid for attracting
the best talent in the market, NexusTours now welcomes Roberto Bermudez who, starting November, joins the team
as Senior Corporate Director Distribution & Product. By sharing his knowledge on strategic planning, product
creation, commercial operations, international business and technological solution, among other endeavors,
Bermudez will be important part in the company’s transformation. He brings a wealth of experience with almost two
decades within successful companies in the sector such as Amstar, Hotelbeds and Tui.

In the meantime, Pablo Gutierrez, after being appointed Senior Corporate Director Strategy & Marketing, assumes
responsibilities in the areas of strategy, expansion, marketing & communication, business processes and excursion
development. Backed up by over 30 years of professional trajectory in tourism, Gutierrez has manned different
directive positions in renowned companies like Iberojet (Orizonia), Halcon Travel and Travelplan (Globalia), Ac Hotels
and Ilunion Hotels (Confortel), among others. Since his entry in NexusTours in 2014, he has been responsible for
product, distribution, differentiation and new services, marketing strategy and corporate image.

The third NexCo member is Jesus Rocha, current Senior Corporate Director Information Technologies, who since his
inclusion in the beginnings of 2017 has been responsible for the company’s development and technological
transformation. Rocha has over 15 years’ experience in IT applied to distinct sectors such as hotel industry and
tourism, and thriving within important companies like RIU Hotels & Resorts and Innovation Strategies. He has
achieved excellent output on systems direction, project management, team coordination, consulting and more.
Pedro Dominguez has been appointed Senior Corporate Director Finance & Corporate Services, covering the entire
financial area that he already manages, plus adding corporate services such as Human Resources and Legal.
Dominguez has ample international experience with over 15 years in the financial field, highlighting his valuable role
as Global CEO in Destination Management and Bed Bank MTS/OTS Globe. Since his arrival in NexusTours three years
ago, he has significantly contributed to the company’s growth and development.

To round off the Executive Committee, a Senior Corporate Director Operations will join, and be responsible for
countries and destinations, customer quality, service and will be working alongside Ruben Gutierrez, NexusTours’
Managing Director.

Source: Retrieved from https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/12/07/1247693/0/en/NexusTours-

announces-implementation-of-the-new-Strategic-Plan-Nexus-2-0.html