Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s unspecified leave of absence just turned into a permanent vacation, as The New York Times reports he’s handed in his resignation after significant pressure from some major shareholders. He’ll retain his seat on the board of directors, as well as “control of a majority of Uber’s voting shares,” though, so this might not be the last we see of him in the lactation rooms.
The embattled ride-share company has weathered plenty of bad press over the last year, covering everything from an alleged culture of sexual harassment to its unsanctioned push into unwelcome markets like Portland. Kalanick did fire 20 employees over the harassment concerns, as well as issue his own treatise on how intraoffice romance was to be handled, but it was too little, too late for investors like Benchmark and Fidelity Investments, who joined with three other shareholders in writing a letter requesting Kalanick’s resignation on Tuesday.
When he announced his temporary leave last week, Kalanick said the company would be overseen by a committee of 10 executives, though it’s hard to imagine there are that many people left in senior positions. With Kalanick’s exit, Uber is out its CEO, COO, CBO, CFO, CMO, and SVP of Engineering, but at least the board has stated it’s looking for an “experienced” chief financial officer. Now to find someone to oversee that person.