Uber CEO resigns after six-months of scandals

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick has resigned as chief executive of the ride-hailing app on Wednesday after pressures from investors.

Mr Kalanick, who will remain on Uber’s board, said last week that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence following the sudden death of his mother in a boating accident.

He also admitted that he was responsible for Uber's recent difficulties and needs to become a better leader.

The news, however, come after several months of scandals and 215 complaints from Uber’s staff, including allegations of sexual harassment, a lawsuit over self-driving car technology, and a software programme that was used to mislead regulators.

An investigation into more than 200 cases of harassment resulted in 20 people being fired from Uber earlier this month.

Mr Kalanick’s stepping down is almost unprecedented in Silicon Valley’s founder-first culture, an ethos that reveres the wisdom of founders such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg and lets their failings go unpunished.

The announcement was made public after former US Attorney Eric Holder released a list of recommendations to improve Uber's values and ethos.

He suggested Mr Kalanick would resign from a leadership role to have some responsibilities shifted to a chief operating officer and other senior managers.

Mr Holder recommended that the new board should deploy performance reviews strategies to hold senior managers accountable according to new metrics that would improve responsiveness to employee complaints.

Kalanick’s departure and the application of the Holder report are supposed to be a breather for Uber, but the company continues to face challenges on several fronts.