UPDATED 16:21 EST / JUNE 13 2017

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Uber CEO takes leave as company tries to ‘reset the culture’

Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive and co-founder Travis Kalanick has taken a leave of absence from the company, which is currently facing some of its toughest challenges ever from both inside and outside the company.

In addition to Uber’s ongoing legal battle with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, the popular ride-hailing company has also been struggling against longstanding allegations of systemic sexism that blew wide open with a viral blog post written by former Uber employee Susan Fowler.

In her post, Fowler claimed that Uber had a serious problem with sexism, yet upper management was unable or unwilling to address it. In response to the allegations, Uber hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a probe into the company’s practices, and on Sunday the company’s board met to vote on the recommendations made as a result of that probe.

Remarkable among those recommendations: limiting Kalanick’s involvement in the company’s leadership.

According to the document drafted by Covington & Burling LLP, the first recommendation made to Uber was to “Review and Reallocate the Responsibilities of Travis Kalanick.” The CEO did not give a date for when he expects to return to his duties, but Bloomberg reported that even after he returns, some of Kalanick’s responsibilities will be given to other executives. Uber’s board is also appointing an independent chair who will limit Kalanick’s influence at the company.

The law firm also recommended that Uber appoint a chief operations officer who could take on much of Kalanick’s duties and take charge in appointing leadership who could “help address these recommendations.” Other recommendations include holding performance reviews for senior management, enhancing the independence of the company’s board, creating an oversight board and improving human resources record keeping.

That’s not all. The report also said the company should limit how much alcohol is available in offices and at offsite events, as well as more strictly prohibit drug use. And it recommended that romantic or intimate relationships between employees in a reporting capacity be prohibited.

Even more specifically, the report said the company must “eliminate those values which have been identified as redundant or as having been used to justify poor behavior, including Let Builders Build, Always Be Hustlin’, Meritocracy and Toe-Stepping, and Principled Confrontation.”

Uber said in a statement that it has accepted all of the law firm’s recommendations.

“This morning, employees were presented the recommendations from Covington & Burling that were unanimously approved by the Board on Sunday,” said Uber Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey. “Implementing these recommendations will improve our culture, promote fairness and accountability, and establish processes and systems to ensure the mistakes of the past will not be repeated. While change does not happen overnight, we’re committed to rebuilding trust with our employees, riders and drivers.”

However, Uber wasn’t yet done with tripping over itself. At an Uber staff meeting today about the report, board member David Bonderman made a joke about women talking a lot that came off to many in the room and beyond as sexist. A few hours later, he resigned from the board.

Photo: Heisenberg Media [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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