Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Travis Kalanick—founder and chief executive officer of Uber—resigned from his position Tuesday following adamant protest from Uber’s investors.
According to sources of the New York Times—who chose to remain anonymous due to information being confidential— “hours of drama” began Tuesday morning when five of Uber’s largest investors ordered Kalanick to step down “immediately.” The demand was made in the form of a letter, reportedly delivered to Kalanick while he was in Chicago.
“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,” Kalanick said in a statement. NYT reports he’ll remain on Uber’s board of directors.
In February, a blog post written by former Uber engineer Susan Fowler garnered widespread attention. Titled “Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber,” the blog post was an eye-opening account of the harassment, gender bias and poor management the company quickly became known for.
“Susan’s post was clearly the catalyst that started it all,” Harry Campbell, a former Uber driver, told The Verge. “Uber had a lot of these problems boiling under the surface, but I have to give credit to Susan Fowler for having the courage to call out her former boss and at the time, one of the most powerful business executives in the world.”
It wouldn’t be long before the blog post—which Kalanick later called “abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in”—went viral, ultimately sparking the investigation that ended with the termination of over 20 of its employees. Soon afterward, other employees began publishing their own accounts as well. And now here we are, just four months later, and Uber’s CEO has stepped aside.
Lesson learned here: There’s power in a single voice. Speak your truth.
