Uber's number two, Emil Michael, is out
Uber senior vice president and business leader Emil Michael, who had reportedly been pressured to resign , has left the company, according to an email obtained by The New York Times and confirmed by NBC News.
Michael will be replaced by David Richter, but his departure is part of a growing senior level exodus at the company. Since February, Uber has lost its president and marketing chief (Jeff Jones), finance chief (Guatam Gupta) and senior VP of engineering (Amit Singhal). The company is also without a chief operating officer. If Travis Kalanick takes a leave of absence, which is being considered, the company will essentially need an entire new senior leadership team.
Here's the full email, obtained by the Times:
Team –Yesterday was my last day with Uber. Starting today, David Richter, our current VP of Strategic Initiatives, will be the new SVP of Business. David is an extremely talented leader and I have high confidence in his ability to help drive the company forward. I signed on with the company almost four years ago and it has truly been the experience of a lifetime helping Uber become the fastest growing company of all-time -- spanning 75 countries with over 14,000 employees. I am proud of our business team's part in contributing to the company's overall success. We have fueled our growth by raising more money than any other tech company in history; we completed one of the most valuable mergers in American/Chinese tech history with the Didi deal; and we have secured ground-breaking partnerships with automobile companies all over the world to support our autonomous vehicle efforts. But I am most proud of the quality of the team we have built. Beginning with my first day at Uber, I have been committed to building a diverse Business Team that would be widely recognized as the best in the technology world: one that is welcoming to people of all genders, sexual orientations, national origins and educational backgrounds. I am proud that our group has made so much progress toward these goals and is a leader in the company in many of these categories. As an Egyptian immigrant who was taken under the wing of a great business leader like Bill Campbell, I have an abiding belief that we all should pay it forward by ensuring that our workplace represents all types of people. Uber has a long way to go to achieve all that it can and I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish in the years ahead.
--Emil Michael
Uber was not immediately available to comment on the report.
At a public dinner in 2014, Michael talked about hiring a team of opposition researchers to dig up dirt on journalists investigating the company.
Michael was also reportedly part of a small team of execs that visited a karaoke-escort bar in South Korea, which drew an HR complaint from a female exec in attendance. Kalanick's ex-girlfriend, Gabi Holzwarth, told The Information that Michael called her earlier this year to try and dissuade her from talking to the press about the escort bar incident, where she was present.
The revelations around Michael have resurfaced amid an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment and gender bias within the company. Results of that investigation are expected to be revealed Tuesday.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will likely take a leave of absence amid the release of an internal investigation, Reuters reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources.
No decision has been made, according to Reuters. Outlets such as The New York Times and Recode previously reported that a leave of absence for Kalanick might be considered by Uber's board, but did not reveal which way the company was leaning.
CNBC has also confirmed that former Nestle CFO Wan Ling Martello will join Uber's board. She was previously CFO for Wal-Mart's international unit, and also sits on Alibaba's board.
— CNBC's Deirdre Bosa, Mike Calia and NBC News contributed to this report.
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