“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,” – Travis Kalanick
Yes, Travis Kalanick has resigned from his position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uber, the ride sharing app which he helped found in 2009 after he came under pressure from prominent shareholders.
The shareholders claimed that the company needed a change in leadership and demanded his resignation via a letter titled “Moving Uber Forward”. After discussions with some of the investors, Kalanick agreed to step down.
This move is largely tied to series of allegations levied against the company which pose as threat to its core business and may have prompted on the investors to take the decision. Kalanick recently announced he was taking a “leave of absence” to work on himself and to grieve his mother who passed away in a boating accident. This also came after the release of a report by former US Attorney General, Eric Holder which looked into the toxic nature of Uber’s company culture.
There have been reports and allegations about discrimination and sexual harassment against the company. Most damaging was that of Susan Fowler, a former female engineer at Uber who accused members of the management team of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and career sabotage. This led to an extensive investigation which resulted in more than 20 employees being fired, a number of top executives resigning from their positions or got fired and a prominent member of the board being forced to resign after making a comment perceived as sexist .
Kalanick will however continue to hold a position on Uber’s board of directors.
