Uber CEO Resigns After Shareholders Demand Change In Leadership
Uber’s founder Travis Kalanick has reportedly vacated his role as CEO, following a string of scandals at the car service company. Kalanick’s resignation was confirmed late Tuesday night (June 20), after he received a letter from five shareholders, demanding a change in leadership, The New York Times reports.
Kalanick released a brief statement to the Times, announcing his departure. “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,” he said.
In the past year, Uber has experienced a number of issues regarding negative testimony from both drivers and passengers. In addition to there being reports of racism, sexism, and even alleged homicides, Kalanick has particularly been under heavy scrutiny for a number of different incidents. In Feb. 2017, Kalanick was accused of supporting Donald Trump’s proposed Muslim ban, which triggered more than 200,000 deleting the service app, Fortune reported. Shortly after, the tech company founder was shown on video berating an Uber driver over his declining fares.
That is only the beginning of Kalanick and Uber’s struggles however. Internally, a number of high-level executives have reportedly exited the company due to alleged misconduct among other offenses. Eric Alexander, the former head of Uber’s Asia-Pacific venture, was reportedly fired earlier this month after allegedly obtaining the medical records of a woman who claimed to be raped by an Uber driver in 2014, according to The Guardian. Uber board member, David Bonderman also resigned from his position, after making a sexist remark during a meeting. Earlier in Feb. 2017, a former engineer released a detailed complaint concerning sexual harassment within the company. Uber has also confirmed the firing of more than 20 employees following a review of HR complaints, according to BBC.
Kalanick’s departure wasn’t sudden. The founder was already on an “indefinite leave of absence” following the death of his mother, the Times reports. Despite his resignation as CEO, Kalanick will reportedly remain on the company’s board of executives.
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