Uber founder and CEO - Travis Kalanick resigns

Earlier this month, we had reported that Travis Kalanick - one of the founders and Chief Executive Officer of Uber, had taken an indefinite leave of absence from the company. Now, Uber has announced that Kalanick has resigned from the post.

Kalanick was pushed out of his position after five of its investors demanded that he step down from his post as they felt that a change in leadership was necessary. While he has resigned as CEO, he will continue to be on the board of directors of the company and retains control of a majority of Uber's voting shares. 

While he was in Chicago, the investors wrote and delivered a letter titled "Moving Uber Forward" to Kalanick asking him to step down immediately.

This year, Uber has run into trouble when a former female employee accused the company for not paying due attention to her complaints regarding sexual harassment at her workplace. After multiple accusations flooded the internet, Uber hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate into the company's workplace culture and practices.

Uber is trying to refurbish its workplace culture after the report of the investigation and a list of recommendations were released. Uber was reported to have a have a workplace culture that included sexual harassment and discrimination, and it has pushed the envelope in dealing with law enforcement and even partners. Kalanick was held responsible for setting this tone and it was recommended that his responsibilities were reviewed and reallocated.

Besides these problems, Uber has had other problems. It is involved in an intellectual property lawsuit filed by Waymo - Google's self-driving car business. Uber has also used a software tool to work its way around some law enforcement. As a result, it is having to deal with a federal inquiry. This has resulted in more than 20 employees of Uber being fired as the company attempts to professionalize its workplace.

Some major investors, who have close to 40% of Uber's voting power, were not happy with Travis Kalanick just going on an indefinite leave of absence. They did not want him to continue in the company.

Source: NY Times