Uber CEO planning to take time away from the company

Tough ride continues for Uber even after losing much of its management team. Now Uber CEO Travis Kalanick plans to take a leave of absence (without disclosing a return date) according to a Bloomberg report. It is going to be even harder for Uber as the company is still looking for a clear No. 2 who could run things in Kalanick’s stead.
The company will appoint an independent chair. The report says that the company will convey the results of a probe conducted by Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general who Uber hired to look into allegations of harassment, discrimination and an aggressive culture. The 47 recommendations include creating a board oversight committee, rewriting Uber’s cultural values, reducing alcohol use at work events, and prohibiting intimate relationships between employees and their bosses.

Uber’s board meeting that took place on Sunday reviewed a detailed version of the report and voted unanimously to approve the recommendations. Afterward, Uber’s head of business Emil Michael was ousted. The report also says that when Kalanick returns, the board will move to diminish his role by giving some of the CEO’s job responsibilities to a chief operating officer ¬¬ a position Uber has been trying actively to recruit for but has yet to fill. This person would “act as a full partner with the CEO but focus on day¬ to¬ day operations, culture and institutions within Uber,” the report said.

Uber recently hired Harvard Business School’s Frances Frei as senior vice president of leadership and strategy, and will add Nestle SA’s Wan Ling Martello as an independent director.