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Uber Investors Slam Travis Kalanick In Open Letter To Employees (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Benchmark Capital, one of Uber's largest investors, is trying to explain its legal feud with former CEO Travis Kalanick to the ride-sharing company's employees. Benchmark sued Kalanick for fraud last week, adding another controversy to the company's already disastrous summer. In an open letter to Uber employees, Benchmark slammed Kalanick's leadership of the company and said that he was purposely hindering the board's search for a replacement CEO. The firm also criticized Uber's slow response to the report compiled by Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran on harassment within Uber, and the stagnant search for a chief financial officer that has dragged on for more than two years.
"It has appeared at times as if the search was being manipulated to deter candidates and create a power vacuum in which Travis could return," the unsigned letter reads. "It's easy to reduce this situation to a battle of personalities. But this isn't about Benchmark versus Travis. It's about ensuring that Uber can reach its full potential as a company. And that will only happen if we get rid of the roadblocks and distractions that have plagued Uber, and its board, for far too long," Benchmark wrote in its letter. "Failing to act would have meant endorsing behavior that was utterly unacceptable in any company, let alone a company of Uber's size and importance." Kalanick has responded to Benchmark through a spokesperson via The New York Times: "Like many shareholders, I am disappointed and baffled by Benchmark's hostile actions, which clearly are not in the best interests of Uber and its employees on whose behalf they claim to be acting. Since 2009, building Uber into a great company has been my passion and obsession. I continue to work tirelessly with the board to identify and hire the best CEO to guide Uber into its next phase of growth and ensure its continued success."
"It has appeared at times as if the search was being manipulated to deter candidates and create a power vacuum in which Travis could return," the unsigned letter reads. "It's easy to reduce this situation to a battle of personalities. But this isn't about Benchmark versus Travis. It's about ensuring that Uber can reach its full potential as a company. And that will only happen if we get rid of the roadblocks and distractions that have plagued Uber, and its board, for far too long," Benchmark wrote in its letter. "Failing to act would have meant endorsing behavior that was utterly unacceptable in any company, let alone a company of Uber's size and importance." Kalanick has responded to Benchmark through a spokesperson via The New York Times: "Like many shareholders, I am disappointed and baffled by Benchmark's hostile actions, which clearly are not in the best interests of Uber and its employees on whose behalf they claim to be acting. Since 2009, building Uber into a great company has been my passion and obsession. I continue to work tirelessly with the board to identify and hire the best CEO to guide Uber into its next phase of growth and ensure its continued success."
I really can't wait for this latest tech bubble to pop, and clear away all of the stupidity and drama that has taken over the tech fields since the .com bust. Silicon Valley and Seattle need to return to their roots as places where tech, and not politics and drama, were what mattered most.
It's like looking at a slow motion train wreck. Pass the popcorn!
Enough already. He made that company what it was. Yes, he struggled to manage it once it hit the big time, but he's one of the great success stories of the tech industry. Reminds me a little of Steve Jobs when it comes to business instincts. Jobian should be a term.
Kalanick is an asshole. That is how he built that company, by being an asshole and doing things people said not to do.
Benchmark was happy with that when they thought the unicorn would produce golden sprinkles on them. He was always an asshole, but he was their asshole.
But surprise, assholes do things that cause problems for you too, even if they are your asshole.
Meh. Chickens -> Roost.
Investors publishing something like this while in the midst of a lawsuit only makes the whole thing look like an even bigger clusterfuck. I stopped using Uber in favor of Lyft over a year ago, and my experience has been so much better.
And a stake driven through Uber's heart.