The Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Resigns

The Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick has resigned from his position as chief executive Officer of the $68bn ride-hailing app following a tumultuous six months of scandal.Travis Kalanick stepped down in the face of pressure from five of Uber’s largest investors, according to the New York Times. Kalanick will, however, stay on the company’s board.

According to the report, five of Uber’s major investor demanded Kalanick’s immediate resignation earlier Tuesday. In a letter to the NYT Travis Kalanick wrote, “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”. After hours of discussion, Travis Kalanick agreed to resign, though he will continue to hold a position on Uber’s board.

Travis Kalanick cited a recent family tragedy and internal issues at the company as reasons for the leave, saying in a letter to Uber employees, “…I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team.”

Uber has now hired a chief brand officer to mend the company’s negative reputation, while a noted Harvard academic Frances Frei has been roped in to help restructure the company.