The Wall Street Journal - Uber Board to Discuss CEO Travis Kalanick’s Possible Leave of Absence
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June 11, 2017. Greg Bensinger.
Board also set to vote on recommendations from a report of an investigation into workplace issues.
Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Travis Kalanick will discuss taking a possible leave of absence when the board of directors of the embattled ride-hailing company meets Sunday morning, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Also on the agenda when the seven-person board convenes is a vote on a series of recommendations from a report prepared by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder regarding its workplace.
It was uncertain whether Mr. Kalanick would ultimately take the leave or whether the board would approve of such a measure, which would require finding a temporary replacement in short order.
Uber officials and Mr. Kalanick didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Kalanick has been weakened by a perception that his leadership fostered a work culture that tolerated sexual harassment and sexism, which prompted the Holder investigation. Uber is also grappling with other scandals: a lawsuit from Google parent Alphabet Inc. over allegedly stolen self-driving car trade secrets; a federal probe into its business operations; and the company’s admission that it erroneously withheld tens of millions of dollars from New York City drivers over more than two years.
Uber's Hard Times Explained
From sexual harassment allegations to social media opposition, Uber's steered off the road. WSJ's Lee Hawkins explains the company's missteps. Photo/video: Drew Evans/The Wall Street Journal.
But Mr. Kalanick is also facing a personal crisis. His mother died late last month in a boating accident that also left his father seriously injured. He has been spending time with his father in the Los Angeles area.
The board is due to meet in the Los Angeles area instead of in San Francisco, where Uber is based, because of Mr. Kalanick’s family needs. Mr. Holder plans to attend the board meeting to elaborate on the findings of his law firm Covington & Burling LLP, which was given to a board subcommittee last week, this person said.
News of the board meeting was reported earlier by tech news site Recode.
Mr. Holder’s report includes recommendations for new human-resource processes and trainings and details allegations by current and former employees about inappropriate behavior at Uber including sexual harassment, retaliation, bullying and other matters, people familiar with the matter said.
Uber hired Mr. Holder to lead the investigation after a former software engineer, Susan Fowler Rigetti, claimed in a February blog post that Uber management had ignored multiple complaints from her and other female workers of sexual harassment and sexism by their managers.
In her blog post, Ms. Fowler Rigetti claimed a supervisor propositioned her for sex and human-resources officials transferred her to another team instead of addressing her complaints. She said she was told she could either work for another group at the company or risk getting a poor performance review.
Ms. Fowler Rigetti also claimed the company discouraged her from making complaints to human-resources officials. Managers changed her positive performance review to a poor one to deny her a promotion, she wrote.
Mr. Kalanick, 40 years old, condemned the behavior, which he said he was unaware of, and immediately called for a probe of Uber’s practices, hiring Mr. Holder’s firm and Perkins Coie LLP to investigate the specifics of Ms. Fowler Rigetti’s claims, among others.
This week, Uber told employees that more than 20 workers had been fired as a result of the Perkins Coie probe and that others were reprimanded or ordered to undergo additional training.
Since Uber’s wave of setbacks and scandals began earlier this year, many executives have left the company. Uber has been trying to hire a deputy for Mr. Kalanick after a leaked video in February showed Mr. Kalanick berating an Uber driver. Uber is also seeking a CFO.
If the board approves Mr. Kalanick’s leave, it will mark a huge shift for the embattled CEO who developed a reputation for sharp elbows, a relentless work ethic and a willingness to push the limits of legality to achieve success. Chief of the ride-hailing firm since 2010, Mr. Kalanick has been the face of Uber amid its ascent to the world’s most valuable private company, pegged by investors at $68 billion.
The seven-member board includes private-equity billionaire David Bonderman ; media mogul Arianna Huffington ; venture capitalist Bill Gurley of Benchmark; an official from a Saudi Arabian government investment fund; co-founder Garrett Camp, who is chairman; early employee Ryan Graves ; and Mr. Kalanick himself.
Uber has been conducting its own workplace investigation, including so-called listening sessions and focus groups led by human-resources chief Liane Hornsey and Ms. Huffington. Employees have also been summoned to the law firms’ offices for interviews.
The ride-hailing company had planned to release an executive summary for Mr. Holder’s findings to employees and the media, though some investors have called for a full version of the report to be made public.
It has taken other actions to shore up its image, including last week hiring two prominent women, Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei and Apple Music executive Bozoma Saint John.
Uber lost $708 million in the first quarter, narrower than the nearly $1 billion lost in the fourth quarter, amid an 18% sales gain. It had more than $7 billion in cash on hand as of the end of March.
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