Reversal of Fortune: Didi Chuxing on the Defensive

Last year, when Uber was grappling with a series of controversies that led to the ouster of founder Travis Kalanick, the president of China’s ride-hailing behemoth Didi Chuxing, Jean Liu, was being touted as an executive role model. What a difference a year makes.

Even as a new CEO at Uber has calmed the waters at that company, Didi has been plunged into its own drama that has squeezed its business. The murders of two female passengers in May and August sparked an intense regulatory onslaught, forcing Didi to change how it operates, including tightening its licensing of drivers—culling drivers who failed the background check or didn’t have enough experience.