Gett has quietly switched up its leadership in Europe
On-demand taxi service Gett has quietly switched up its leadership in Europe following a huge investment from car maker Volkswagen.
Remo Gerber, managing director for Europe, has left his role at the Uber-rival and Gett's recently appointed chief operating officer of western Europe, Matteo de Renzi, has been promoted to chief executive of western Europe.
It comes as Gett brought to an end its champagne delivery service, indicating a change in focus after the new investment.
The champagne on-demand service from Veuve Clicquot launched in mid-2015 as part of the Israeli startup's plans to expand beyond cabs into other services.
However, it has now pulled back on that, and comes after Volkswagen ploughed $300m into the company to fulfil ambitions of moving beyond just a car company and becoming a "mobility provider".
It's understood Gerber left the company within the last two months. De Renzi joined the company over the summer from McKinsey where he was a consultant with its advanced industries practice which covers the auto industry.
Gett will continue with its courier service, introduced in February, but it signals a pullback on less core services. It also experimented with delivering salads and other alcoholic drinks. Neither are available any longer.
In an email update to customers, Gett said:
Thank you for using Gett Clicquot over the past year and for ordering your champagne with us through the app.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end and we'll no longer be providing this service.
It also offered users a £5 credit on their account to use when ordering a black cab.
A spokesperson for the company said: "While Gett Clicquot had a wonderful, loyal customer base and many on-demand bottles of Veuve Clicquot were enjoyed by Londoners, we are currently putting all of our energy into growing our core business of licensed black taxis around the UK."