Uber co-founder and one of its board members Garrett Camp doesn’t believe that Travis Kalanick is set to return to his role as the Chief Executive Officer of the ride-hailing giant and has explicitly stated his opinion on the matter in an email sent to a number of the company’s employees on Monday, sources familiar with the contents of the internal memo said. Rumors of Mr. Kalanick planning on “Steve Jobs-ing” his current situation emerged in late July and cast some doubt over Uber’s search for a long-term CEO that’s meant to replace its ousted top executive. Mr. Camp dismissed the rumors in his email, stating that the San Francisco, California-based firm is now fully committed to bringing in “a new world class CEO” that’s meant to help Uber bounce back from its recent issues, in addition to revamping the company’s corporate “culture and practices” that have been the subjects of numerous criticism in the past months as accusations of a predatory working environment started circulating the industry.
Mr. Kalanick resigned his CEO position in June following pressure from several major investors who reportedly believed that his leadership is detrimental to Uber’s goals and general business ambitions. Mr. Camp didn’t elaborate on the state of the company’s search for a new top executive, though recent rumors suggest that Uber is now close to hiring someone and has narrowed down its shortlist of candidates to only four names. Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman publicly rejected the idea of joining Uber last month, and many of its candidates were reportedly reluctant to even consider taking over the company during its time of crisis.
Uber is still hoping that its targets will be tempted by the promise of a massive payout that they would be guaranteed if the company was ever to file for an initial public offering (IPO). Being the world’s most valuable startup, Uber’s $70 billion valuation would likely ensure a significant bonus for its CEO in a scenario in which the firm goes public. Until then, however, Uber has to conclude its legal battle with Alphabet’s Waymo and do what it can to improve its corporate culture that’s said to be the cause of many of its recent issues.