Uber chief executive Kalanick resigns

Uber boss Travis Kalanick has resigned as chief executive after pressure from shareholders.

Mr Kalanick will remain on the board of the ride-hailing 
firm, however.

His resignation comes after a review of practices at
 the firm and scandals including complaints of sexual harassment.

Last week he said he was taking an indefinite leave of absence following the sudden death of his mother in a 
boating accident.


'Bold decision'

Five major Uber investors demanded Mr Kalanick's 
immediate resignation in a letter on Tuesday, the New 
York Times said.

Mr. Kalanick reportedly said: "I love Uber more than 
anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight."

Uber's board said in a statement: "Travis has always 
put Uber first. This is a bold decision and a sign of his devotion and love for Uber.

"By stepping away, he's taking the time to heal from his personal tragedy while giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber's history. We look 
forward to continuing to serve with him on the board."


'Uphill climb'

Dan Primack, business editor of the Axios news service, 
was one of the first to report the investor demands for Mr Kalanick to go.

Mr Primack said a group of investors, but particularly 
Bill Gurley of venture capitalist firm Benchmark, had put pressure on Mr Kalanick to resign.

"It's important to note: Travis controlled the board in 
terms of votes, so really, it was a vey big uphill climb for 
[Mr] Gurley and the other investors to get this done," Mr Primack said.

Uber's future prospects were now "pretty bright", Mr 
Primack added.

The firm has been searching for a chief operating officer, 
but now can seek out Fortune 500 chief executives to take over the top spot, he said.


Scandals

The ride-hailing company has had a series of recent
controversies, including the departure of other high
-level executives.

Eric Alexander, the former head of Uber's Asia-Pacific business, left after a report that he had obtained the 
medical records of a woman who was raped by an Uber 
driver in 2014.

Mr Alexander reportedly shared them with Mr Kalanick, 
senior vice-president Emil Michael and others.

Mr Alexander was fired earlier this month, and Mr 
Michael later left Uber .

Board member David Bonderman made a sexist remark
at a meeting about workplace practice recommendations 
last week and then resigned as a director.

In February Uber said it was investigating "abhorrent"
 sexual harassment claims made by former Uber 
engineer Susan Fowler.

This month Uber said it had fired more than 20 staff 
and had taken action against others following a review of more than 200 HR complaints that included harassment 
and bullying.

There has also been a lawsuit from Google's parent 
company, Alphabet, over alleged theft of trade secrets 
related to driverless cars.