Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Resigns Amid Controversies After ‘Shareholder Revolt’



Back in 2009, Travis Kalanick cofounded UberCab, the San Francisco-based ridesharing company that would later become sinply “Uber” in 2011. Fast forward to the current day where Uber is operating in 570 cities worldwide, became of Silicon Valley’s most iconic sucess stories, and is valued at approximately $70 billion. However, the tech darling has been hit with multiple controversies in recent times that finally erupted in a “shareholder revolt.” The casualty of this uprising is the company’s CEO, and on Tuesday Kalanick resigned.

Kalanick penned a letter titled “Moving Uber Forward” that announced his resignation.

I never thought I would be writing this.

As you all know, I love Uber more than anything in the world, but at this difficult moment in my personal life, I have accepted a group of investors’ request to step aside, so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight. I will continue to serve on the board, and will be available in any and all ways to help Uber become everything we’ve dreamed it would be.

Thank you for everything,

Travis

Kalanick is staying on the board of directors. The company’s board issued a statement on the departure of Kalanick.

“Travis has always put Uber first. This is a bold decision and a sign of his devotion and love for Uber. By stepping away, he’s taking the time to heal from his personal tragedy while giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber’s history. We look forward to continuing to serve with him on the board.”

Uber has been beseiged by scandals in recent months including questionable workplace culture, sexual harassment problems, discrimination, and taking their drivers for granted. Fortune has a timeline of the controversies at Uber that ultimately led to Kalanick stepping down. This all resulted in a four-month investigation. But the controversies did not only take the job of Kalanick, there were no shortage of Uber higher-ups that were ousted from the company. Already in 2017, there have been 14 Uber executives that have stepped down or were fired.

Uber has a worrying amount of of executive positions to fill, including CEO, chief operating officer, general counsel, senior vice president of engineering, chief marketing officer, and board chair.

I wouldn’t shed too many tears for the 40-year-old Kalanick because he is said to have a net worth of more than $6 billion.

[TechCrunch]