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Uber CEO Kalanick takes leave of absence

Johannesburg - Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is reportedly taking a leave of absence from his post to grieve the loss of his mother, an email distributed among company employees said. 

“Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time of the day-to-day,” an email he wrote to staff read.

“During this interim period, the leadership team, my directs, will be running the company. I will be available as needed for the most strategic decisions, but I will be empowering them to be bold and decisive in order to move the company forward swiftly,” he wrote in the email.

The news comes a day after Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice-president and a close ally of Kalanick left the company. 

A meeting on Sunday that lasted more than six hours, a representative for Uber’s board said directors approved several changes, led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder. 

The ride-hailing company planned to begin implementing the changes early this week and outline them to employees at a meeting on Tuesday. 

On the agenda at Sunday’s meeting were a possible leave of absence for Kalanick and potentially parting ways with Michael. 

The pair’s involvement in at least two incidents - the mishandling of an Indian rape victim’s medical records and a visit to a Seoul karaoke bar that reportedly prompted a human-resources complaint - came up in the course of Holder’s probe, Bloomberg reported. 

The investigation by Holder’s law firm Covington & Burling and a separate examination of HR matters by Perkins Coie were provoked by allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination from former employee Susan Fowler in February. 

The scope soon expanded to include over 200 HR claims and resulted in the firings of more than 20 employees. Eric Alexander, who oversaw business in Asia, departed amid reports of the India rape controversy last week.

In addition to responding to a cavalcade of scandals, Kalanick has had to grapple with the accidental death of his mother, whose funeral was on Friday.

As attention turns to Uber’s CEO and one of his deputies, the uncertainty highlights a critical weakness in the company’s top ranks.

In the last four months, Uber lost a president and the heads of its autonomous driving unit, finance, mapping, policy, software engineering, and product and growth. The role of chief financial officer remains open, and it’s actively searching for an operating chief to provide leadership help to Kalanick.

Uber is racing to fill holes in its leadership. Last week, the company said it hired Frances Frei, a Harvard Business School professor, as senior vice president for strategy and leadership, and Apple’s Bozoma Saint John as chief brand officer.

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