Bloomberg reported that Kalanick lobbied to pick his own successor, former GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt. The Uber board rejected this proposal, suspecting that Immelt had promised Kalanick to serve only briefly, facilitating Kalanick’s return.
Kalanick reneged on his agreement to release his board seat and two others he controlled
As part of his resignation, Kalanick had agreed to surrender his seat on Uber’s board as well as two other seats he controlled. But Bloomberg reported that he reneged on this agreement as he unilaterally appointed two board members.
Kalanick didn’t abide by leave
When pressed to take leave in response to mounting scandals, then-CEO Travis Kalanick was seen not to comply with the leave. Board member Arianna Huffington was seen as his proxy. Bloomberg reported that Uber’s finance team was spreading the word that Kalanick was still in charge. Among Kalanick’s activities while on leave was searching employee emails to investigate leaks.
Bloomberg reported that Kalanick’s handpicked executive team objected to his meddling while on leave and sent a letter asking him to stop. Business Insider added that a sixteen-person senior management team sent a letter to Uber’s Board, complaining that Kalanick was interfering with their work and asking the Board to intervene.
Kalanick resigned
In June 2017, Kalanick resigned from his position as Uber CEO.
Bloomberg reports that Kalanick’s resignation was to be presented as a graceful departure. But a detailed New York Times article revealed the departure as the ouster it actually was.
Board member Arianna Huffington seen as Kalanick’s proxy
After the Uber board forced Kalanick to take leave, Bloomberg reported that other executives and board members suspected that Uber board member Arianna Huffington was serving as his proxy.
Kalanick re-debated with Uber driver, then (without authority) promised equity in Uber
After being caught on video arguing with Uber driver Fawzi Kamel, Kalanick sought to meet with the driver again to try to make things right. Bloomberg reports that Kalanick had planned to meet with the driver briefly, as little as five minutes, for a simple apology. Instead, the meeting lasted more than an hour, and Kamel and Kalanick reopened their debate about Uber’s pricing policies.
As part of the discussion, Kalanick suggested that he give the driver Uber stock. Uber attorneys rejected the proposal, seeing it as improper that Uber shareholders pay to clean up Kalanick’s personal problem. Kalanick ended up paying Kamel $200,000 of personal funds.
Escort bar visit
Then-General Counsel Salle Yoo “expressed reservations” about acquisition of Otto
In summer 2016, Uber then-CEO Travis Kalanick sought to acquire a startup called Otto which specialized in self-driving vehicles. According to Bloomberg, then-General Counsel Salle Yoo “expressed reservations about the deal” and insisted on hiring Stroz Friedberg (cyber investigators) to assess any impropriety including the possibility, already known to her and Kalanick, that Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski was bringing files from Google, his former employer.
Bloomberg reports that Uber’s board wasn’t aware of these concerns, the Stroz findings, or Levandowski’s retention of Google files.
Kalanick “promoted” then-General Counsel Yoo to sideline her
As then-Genreal Counsel Salle Yoo pushed for Uber to comply with the law, then-CEO Travis Kalanick reassigned her from General Counsel to Chief Legal Officer. Kalanick styled this as a promotion, but Bloomberg says his “true intention was to sideline her from daily decisions” (based on assessment from two employees who worked closely with them).
Legal department “spirit of rule-breaking”
Bloomberg reported that then-CEO Travis Kalanick encouraged then-General Counsel Salle Yoo to create a legal department with what Bloomberg called a “spirit of rule-breaking.” In a performance review, Kalanick told Yoo she needed to be more “innovative.” Bloomberg reports that Yoo considered herself “liberated” by not having to follow “best practices,” being allowed “to do things the way I think things should be done, rather than the way other people do it.” But Bloomberg says Yoo failed to challenge Kalanick and his deputies, or raise objections to Uber’s board.