Early Life and Education
Ryan Graves was born in San Diego, California, in 1983. He spent his childhood near the beach and attended Horizon Christian Academy. He later pursued higher education at Miami University in Ohio, where he earned a degree in economics in 2006. During his time at university, he was a member of the water polo club team and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
Rise to Success
Graves began his career at General Electric before securing an internship at Foursquare. In February 2010, he became the first employee of Uber. He responded to a tweet by Travis Kalanick, the co-founder of Uber, by replying with "here's a tip. email me :)" and secured the job. Initially, Graves served as the General Manager and was later appointed CEO shortly after Uber's launch. However, Kalanick succeeded Graves as CEO in December 2010, and Graves transitioned to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). By 2019, Graves owned 31.9 million shares in Uber. He eventually resigned from the Uber board of directors in May 2019.
Key Business Strategies
Graves played a pivotal role in the growth and development of Uber during its early stages. He was instrumental in scaling the company from its initial stages to a global presence. His responsibilities included overseeing operations, strategy, expansion, and recruitment. Graves was also involved in fundraising efforts and helped build Uber's team and culture. In 2018, he founded Saltwater, a family office focused on investments in technology businesses. Saltwater provides strategic and operational support to its portfolio companies.
Philanthropy
Graves is actively involved in philanthropy. He serves on the board of directors for Charity: Water, a non-profit organization focused on providing clean water solutions to people in developing nations. He has pledged at least 1% of his net worth to this charity.
