Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to take leave of absence following mother's death

(Image credit: Mike Windle/Getty Images)

published 13 June 2017

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced Tuesday in an email to employees that he is taking a leave of absence from the company. Kalanick will take an unspecified amount of time off to grieve his mother, who died in a boating accident last month, and his father, who remains in serious condition.

"If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve," Kalanick said in an email. "During the interim period, the leadership team, my directs, will be running the company."

On Monday, Uber's senior vice president, Emil Michael, announced his departure, just a day after Uber's board met Sunday to hear former Attorney General Eric Holder's findings from an internal investigation of company culture. The New York Times reported that the recommendations based on the investigation's findings "included reviewing Mr. Kalanick's responsibilities and reallocating them, with an increased emphasis on a chief operating officer at the company."