Travis Kalanick won't return as Uber CEO, reports say
Despite the rumors, former CEO Travis Kalanick supposedly won't be rejoining Uber's executive team.
Uber co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick won't be returning to his executive position, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
In an email obtained by the Journal, Uber co-founder and chairman Garrett Camp told staff on Monday that "Travis is not returning as CEO" and that the company is "committed to hiring a new world-class CEO to lead Uber."
Kalanick stepped down in June at the urging of Uber's five main investors. But rumors have been flying over the past week that he's been plotting his return, a la Apple's Steve Jobs.
Problems for Uber started snowballing back in February when former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a blog post titled "Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber." She wrote about sexual harassment, "a game-of-thrones political war raging within the ranks of upper management," and gender bias.
From there, the scandals followed, including a leaked dashboard video of Kalanick berating an Uber driver, and a high-publicity lawsuit with Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent company Alphabet.
Uber hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to lead an internal investigation into the accusations in Fowler's blog post, along with other allegations regarding the company's chaotic corporate culture. Holder released the results of that probe in June, suggesting Uber make "changes to senior leadership." He also recommended the board "evaluate the extent to which some of the responsibilities that Mr. Kalanick has historically possessed should be shared or given outright to other members of senior management."
Uber didn't respond to CNET's request for comment.
First published Aug. 8, 9:02 a.m. PT
Update, 11:25 a.m.: Adds miscellaneous background information.
