Uber‘s president of ride sharing has left the company less than a year after joining, with sources alleging that he has left as a direct result of the recent storm of controversy around the company.
The company released a statement confirming that Jeff Jones had left the company. “We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best.”
Jones confirmed his departure in a statement to Recode, who originally broke the story:
I joined Uber because of its Mission, and the challenge to build global capabilities that would help the company mature and thrive long-term.It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business.There are thousands of amazing people at the company, and I truly wish everyone well.
Uber has faced a tough time over the past few weeks – they’ve been struck with accusations of institutionalised sexual harassment and use of tools to avoid law enforcement, and CEO Travis Kalanick was captured on video berating a driver.
Kalanick announced that he would seek a chief operating officer who would work as a second-in-command to iron out the company’s problems. Sources say that though this person would outrank Jones, this didn’t have anything to do with his departure.
Jones was considered a big hire when he was plucked from Target last year. His job was to both clean up the company’s image and also to run its ride sharing business, which is by now the company’s main business.
Source: Recode.
Photo: Uber.
