Uber loses its No. 2 executive amid management turmoil
Jeff Jones' departure comes as the company grapples with multiple controversies.
Jeff Jones' tenure at Uber proved brief.
Uber President Jeff Jones has left the ride-hailing service after little more than six months in the job.
Jones' departure is directly related to the multiple recent controversies dogging the San Francisco-based startup, Recode reported Sunday. Uber confirmed Jones' departure in a statement Sunday.
"We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best," the company said.
The resignation comes less than two weeks after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick admitted he needed to "grow up" and said he would seek leadership help. His departure, however, isn't related to Kalanick's announcement that he would hire a chief operating officer to help run the ride-hailing company, Recode reported.
Uber announced in August that it had hired Jones away from retail giant Target, where he served as chief marketing officer. His job was to boost Uber's global brand, but as the company's No. 2 executive, he had an intimate look at a bumpy couple of weeks for Uber, ranging from allegations of sexual harassment to a cutthroat company culture to the resignation of a key executive.
In February, Uber promised to conduct an internal investigation into allegations made by Susan Fowler. A site reliability engineer at Uber from November 2015 to late last year, Fowler claims that one manager had inappropriately sexually propositioned many women, but Uber management repeatedly "refused" to punish him as he was a "high performer." Uber later announced it had hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to lead an internal investigation into the allegations.
Another black eye came in March when it was revealed Uber was using a secretive Greyball tool to thwart efforts by local authorities to catch the ride-hailing company violating local regulations. After the tool's existence was revealed, the company said it would stop using it.
Kalanick's admission that he needed help running the company came after a dashboard video surfaced that showed him arguing with an Uber driver over fares. The argument gets heated and ends with Kalanick telling the driver to stop blaming Uber for his problems.
First published March 19 2:17 p.m. PDT.
Update, 3:10 p.m. PT: Adds Uber statement.
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