DETROIT (AP) – Uber must get rid of leaders who tolerate bad behavior and hire people who don’t – including up to the chief executive – experts say, as the ride-hailing company gets ready to announce significant changes to its culture and management.
Uber’s board has adopted the recommendations of former Attorney General Eric Holder, who investigated its toxic culture of harassment and bullying. Those will be revealed to employees and made public on Tuesday.
Experts interviewed by The Associated Press say CEO Travis Kalanick should step aside or at minimum change his behavior for the company to make progress. Uber’s board is discussing a leave of absence for Kalanick. No decision has yet been made, according to a person briefed on the matter who didn’t want to be identified because board discussions aren’t normally made public.
A CEO’s behavior sets the tone for the rest of the company, says Cindy Schipani, a business law professor at the University of Michigan who has taken part in investigations of corporate conduct. She says Kalanick should resign and save the board from having to oust him. “That’s where the culture comes from. It has to change at the top and he has to recognize what he does, his actions, speak louder than anything put on paper,” she says. It would be tough for the board to remove Kalanick because of Uber’s stock ownership structure.
Jennifer Chatman, a business professor at the University of California Berkeley who also does corporate investigations, predicts that Kalanick will be granted a leave – but he won’t return in the top spot.