- Uber has announced that Travis Kalanick is resigning from the company board of directors
Uber Technologies announced that Travis Kalanick is resigning from the company board of directors, effective December 31, 2019, in order to focus on new business and philanthropic endeavors.
“Very few entrepreneurs have built something as profound as Travis Kalanick did with Uber. I’m enormously grateful for Travis’ vision and tenacity while building Uber, and for his expertise as a board member. Everyone at Uber wishes him all the best,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
Uber co-founders Kalanick and Garrett Camp had come up with the idea for the company while visiting Paris in December 2008 for an event and they were unable to find a taxi. Two years later, Uber launched in July 2010 in San Francisco. And now the ride-sharing company has seen over 15 billion trips.
“Uber has been a part of my life for the past 10 years. At the close of the decade, and with the company now public, it seems like the right moment for me to focus on my current business and philanthropic pursuits. I’m proud of all that Uber has achieved, and I will continue to cheer for its future from the sidelines. I want to thank the board, Dara and the entire Uber team for everything they have done to further the Uber mission,” added Kalanick.
Kalanick had served as the CEO of the company between 2010 and 2017. While Kalanick navigated the company through intense competition and a hypergrowth phase, Khosrowshahi was brought in to improve the company culture and stabilize the company.
“I want to thank Travis for his service as a director on the Board. His unique expertise, honed over 10 years building Uber from a scrappy startup into the global public company it is today, will be missed. On behalf of the entire Board, I wish him the best of luck with his new endeavors,” stated Ron Sugar, an independent Chairperson of the Uber Board.
Before this announcement, Kalanick sold about $2.5 billion worth of his stake in the company. Kalanick currently runs a fund called 10100. And Kalanick invested in a real estate company called City Storage Systems and is now the CEO of that company. City Storage Systems runs a division called CloudKitchens, which sets up kitchens in retail spaces for chefs who want to start food delivery businesses. CloudKitchens is now valued at $5 billion following a round of funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund.
