Immense pressure from investors has forced Travis Kalanick, CEO of cab-hailing service Uber to step down from his position. Kalanick was forced to resign from the company he helped found in 2009, following rebellion from shareholders. Kalanick was asked to resign when five of Uber’s largest and most important shareholders demanded his resignation. The investors who made the demand included Benchmark (the venture capital firm), which had placed one of its partners Bill Gurley on Uber’s Board Of Directors.
Kalanick steps down
Sources familiar with the matter stated that the investors made their demand known to the management of Uber through a letter that was delivered to Kalanick while he was in Chicago.
The letter which was obtained by The New York Times was titled “Moving Uber Forward.” In the letter, the investors conveyed to Kalanick that his resignation from the position of CEO is a necessity and the company is in dire need of change in leadership. Following lengthy discussions with an Uber board member and some of the investors, the Uber CEO agreed to resign from his post. However, he will continue to be present in Uber’s board of directors.
Kalanick stated that the company he helped found means more than anything to him in the world. However, at this difficult moment, he has “accepted the investors request to step aside” so that Uber can look toward a constructive future, rather than get embroiled in another fight.
The board of directors also echoed his emotion and agreed that he had “always put Uber first”. However, given the present scenario, his resignation would give the organization a chance to move forward.
The controversies
The resignation follows months of questions that were raised pertaining to the leadership at the company. The controversies that Uber has been courting for some time have been taken as a classic example of a Silicon Valley startup culture gone awry.
Lately, the company has been embroiled in some serious allegations that all firms try to steer clear from. Apart from that, Uber has been accused of having a workplace environment, which includes discriminations and sexual harassment.
Kalanick has been courting troubles since the time a former employee who worked as an engineer claimed that she was sexually harassed in the company.
This lone complaint opened gates and much more followed, which forced the organization to start an internal investigation. Additionally, Uber has been embroiled in a court case where Waymo accused it of stealing intellectual property associated with self-driving cars.
