End of the Ride: Travis Kalanick Is Done as Uber CEO

-
Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down this week from his position in response to pressure from the company’s top investors.

-
This is the latest in a string of less than favorable happenings for the colossal ride-sharing service. Last month, Uber autonomous-division executive Anthony Levandowski was terminated amid a lawsuit over allegations the former Waymo employee took 14,000 secret documents before hopping aboard with Uber. In March, a former Uber engineer published a blog post that brought to light a workplace culture that reportedly fosters sexual harassment, locker-room talk, and gender discrimination. Just last week, Kalanick had announced that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence, although we now know that he’s relinquishing the CEO title.

-
His resignation, first reported by the New York Times, was a result of a letter put together by five top Uber investors. The letter, titled “Moving Uber Forward,” explicitly demanded that Kalanick abandon the position of CEO. Whoever steps in to assume that role will not be the only new person at the table. Uber is currently in the process of searching to fill the roles of CEO, CFO, COO, president, and senior vice president of business. The idea of a $68 billion company that employs 14,000 having no one at the helm is unsettling at the very least, although a corporate overhaul seems mandatory to redefine the culture that came under heavy criticism under Kalanick’s leadership.

-

• 
  -
• Uber’s Secret “Greyball” Program Allegedly Targeted Law Enforcement
  -
• Uber Fires Anthony Levandowski amid Lawsuit over Self-Driving-Car Trade Secrets
  -
• CEO Kalanick Taking a Break as Uber Charts a New Course
  -

-
“I love Uber more than anything in the world, and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors’ request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,” Kalanick said.

-
Kalanick may be out as CEO, but he won’t be gone entirely from the company he helped build. He will remain on the board of directors and will still control a majority of voting shares.

-

Continue reading...