Technology

Uber toils to shake off former chief as part of clean-up effort

Company struggling to find new chief as Benchmark Capital sues the old one

Former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick: not going without a struggle. Photograph: Shu Zhang/File Photo/Reuters

Sat Aug 12 2017 - 06:06

Just when it seemed as though we'd heard all there was to hear about Uber, the company bounces back into the headlines again.

The lift-hailing app, which has been involved in a litany of scandals in recent years, has been busy trying to clean up its act. The departure of Travis Kalanick as chief executive from a company he founded was deemed to be the first step in a move to make the firm presentable again.

As a company that has come to be loathed, following a stream of bad publicity following allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, spying, false advertising and a high-profile lawsuit from Google’s parent Alphabet, it was hoped that getting rid of Kalanick would help the company turn the corner.

The problem, though, is that Kalanick hasn’t gone. Not completely anyway. It emerged this week that venture capital firm Benchmark, which has a 13 per cent stake in Uber, is suing the former chief executive to force him off the board of the company and rescind his ability to fill three board seats.

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The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, accuses Kalanick of concealing a range of misdeeds from the board and of scheming to retain power in the firm.

Many in Silicon Valley expressed surprise at what was deemed to be “the nuclear option” by Benchmark, but there are also some who believe the company can’t completely repair the damage until Kalanic is fully gone.

While the battle to get rid of the former chief executive continues, finding a replacement for him is also proving difficult.

As the Washington Post and other news organisations' witty headlines this week put it: "Uber's search for a female CEO has been narrowed down to three men."

A number of top female candidates have turned down the opportunity to take the lead of the company, with Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sanberg and HP chief executive Meg Whitman among those reported to have said no to Uber.

Given the latest news, it’s possible that any male candidate worth their salt may also want to steer of the firm.

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