It took me 5 minutes to find the CEO of GetMe
There has been a lot of speculation about the CEO of GetMe in Austin, Texas. So much so they don’t show his name on the website — just a placeholder named “CEO.”
I really wanted to know who was behind the company that wants to be transparent with who their drivers are, so I dug in using a simple investigative journalism technique.
State Filings
In order to get a good look at the company I read through their state filings.
I started with their first state filing: the Application for Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company.
Don’t let the word foreign throw you. This just indicates it is a company outside Texas.
The filing was for a company named Get It Delivery Technologies, LLC which was later changed on November 6, 2015 to GetMe, LLC.
Original Name
The filing states Get It Delivery Technologies, LLC was formed in Delaware in August of 2014. <- Remember this date!
The original office for Get It Delivery Technologies was in DeSoto, Texas near Dallas.
Original Registered Agent
The next place to look is the registered agent of the corporation. The agent for Get It Delivery Technologies was David L. Hager in Keller Texas and later changed to a corporation that handles these sorts of things. I looked up David’s address in Google Maps and street view shows it is a very nice house. My assumption was this was the likely candidate to be the managing director (CEO) of the LLC behind the GetMe app. This assumption continued to be validated in the governing people section.
Governing People Section
The next place to look is in the governing people section of the document. The name David L. Hager is used in this section as well. A pattern such as this tends to tell me the name of the CEO. The other two gentlemen Michael L. Gaubert (an attorney in Dallas with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith), and Aaron Oehlsclager (a partner at Titan Services in Dallas — a logistics company) were listed as well as a Carter Boisvert — a man with an interesting mustache and hairdo.
The dead giveaway
What really gives David away is the place on the document where the CEO must sign the document.
And this ladies and gentlemen is the CEO of GetMe: David L. Hager, CEO and President. His LinkedIn profile says he has been with the “Start-Up Technology Company” since August of 2014. This lines up with the date of formation of the company.
He signed this document just a year ago as the company’s Manager, CEO, and President.
All information used in this story is public record and available from the Texas Secretary of State.
Update on 5/11/2016:
I read through a court document explaining David L. Hager had a medical issue preventing him from focusing on any company during the first half of last year. This makes me think that he may indeed no longer be the CEO of this company or at least is recovering until he can continue his day-to-day operational role.
Update on 5/13/2016:
Well the company responded to my friend at the ABJ who just let me know. Hager is no longer the CEO. Michael L. Gaubert (an attorney in Dallas with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith) has been confirmed as CEO. Let’s hope he can focus his time on the company’s recent quality issues that have emerged.
If you liked the story please consider recommending it by clicking the heart icon below. You can also follow me on Twitter at @richardbagdonas.