Uber Board Will Weigh Removing Executive Emil Michael
EghtesadOnline: Uber Technologies Inc.’s board is expected to meet Sunday to discuss whether to part ways with top business executive Emil Michael, a chief confidant of Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Kalanick is also expected to weigh taking a three-month leave of absence, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the matter. In addition to responding to a cavalcade of scandals, Kalanick has had to grapple with the accidental death of his mother, whose funeral was Friday. An Uber spokesman declined to comment, Bloomberg reported.
Michael has been embroiled in some of the company’s biggest controversies. Most recently Uber parted ways with Eric Alexander, another top executive, following questions about whether he improperly obtained a woman’s medical report following her alleged rape by an Uber driver. Michael knew that Alexander had the report and expressed skepticism to some people about whether she had been raped, Bloomberg has reported.
Uber may be run by a management committee, though a single internal executive could also be selected. Top candidates for a management committee include operational leads Rachel Holt, Andrew Macdonald, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, along with product chief Daniel Graf, and potentially human resources head Liane Hornsey, the people said.
Michael may resign as soon as Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The full board is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles, so the final decisions have not yet been voted on. The possible leave of absence for Kalanick was reported earlier by Reuters.