Coup leaves troubled Uber looking for a leader
Series of scandals results in ousting of founder Travis Kalanick as CEO
U ber i s seeking a strong manager who can repair a broken image, juggle multiple lawsuits and government investigations, develop and nurture a new corporate culture and lead a successful IPO.
That’s a lot for potential candidates to consider. The ridehailing company needs a new leader after former chief executive and company founder Travis Kalanick resigned this week under pressure from Uber’s board and investors.
A series of missteps, including a profanity- laced outburst that was caught on film by an Uber driver, led to Kalanick’s resignation.
The plot to oust Kalanick began almost the moment he announced last week that he was taking a temporary break from the celebrated technology company caught up in scandals.
The audacious effort to end Kalanick’s run atop one of Silicon Valley’s most successful start- ups was led by one of the company’s own board members, Bill Gurley, a major investor, according to two people familiar with the board’s thinking.
Even as Uber’s board of directors publicly appeared to support Kalanick last week, Gurley, a venture capitalist, rounded up other Uber investors who also said Kalanick simply could not return to the company he co- founded and grew from small start- up to a business estimated to be worth US$ 69 billion ($ 95b), according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Gurley did not respond to a request for comment.
Uber had been rocked by an unrelenting parade of controversies, including allegations of widespread sexual harassment and executive departures that culminated in the board last week announcing 47 measures aimed at overhauling Uber’s workplace.
That was when Kalanick, 40, said he would be taking indefinite leave, in part to allow him to grieve for his mother, who had died weeks earlier.
But it was clear almost from the start that Kalanick’s return to Uber was going to be contested, according to several people knowledgeable about what happened over the past week.
From the moment his leave was announced, some people who knew the famously hard- charging Kalanick were sceptical that — based on how he had managed the company over eight years — he could change in the ways needed to allow him to return.
The ride- hailing giant more than doubled gross bookings in 2016 to US$ 20b, according to financial information Uber shared with Bloomberg. Net revenue was US$ 6.5b, while adjusted net losses were US$ 2.8b, excluding the China business, which it sold last northern summer.
At least one person has already taken her name out of the running: Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.
Sandberg has no plans to leave her current job, a person close to her told the Associated Press.
Uber’s board is likely to consider some outsiders with turnaround experience.
Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research says automotive chief executives would be a good fit, and would be familiar with Uber’s push into autonomous vehicle research.
Former Ford chief Alan Mulally is well known for turning around that struggling carmaker, and he has tech experience from serving on the board at Google.
His successor at Ford, Mark Fields, was recently ousted because of Ford’s flagging stock price. But Fields delivered record profits while he was at Ford, and he became a familiar face in Silicon Valley after setting up Ford operations there.
David Cush, a longtime American Airlines executive, was believed to be in the running for a chief operating officer spot at Uber before Kalanick’s departure. He could now be among those considered for chief executive.
Cush was named chief executive of Virgin America in 2007, shortly after the Richard Branson- backed carrier began flying. Under Cush, Virgin developed a hip image and loyal following, especially in its home market of California.
Tech leaders also are likely to be in the running. Women such as Susan Wojcicki, the chief executive of YouTube since 2014, or Marissa Mayer, who most recently ran Yahoo, would help change Uber’s maledominated culture.
“Appointing a woman would certainly send a strong signal given the recent troubles, and that would be one of the easiest ways to cement a broad cultural shift away from the frat mentality that often characterised Travis Kalanick’s tenure,” Dawson said. But he thinks Uber’s board will prioritise track record and reputation over gender in its hiring.
Some insiders could also be on Uber’s li st, including co- founder Garrett Camp. In a blog post this week, Camp said Uber had become obsessed with growth and was not listening to employees.
“I believe that our business can have 10x the impact it has today . . . once we have additional leadership and training in place, and evolve our culture to be more inclusive and respectful,” Camp wrote in a blog.