I assume that the CEO of Uber has three major goals. These goals are to stop the steady flow of ugly PR, slow the company's burn rate, and prepare the company for a liquidity event. Because of recent turmoil, I don't think that Uber has any shot of an IPO in the next two years.
Since 180 days really isn't enough time to onboard a COO or CFO, I would only focus on damage control. I would need those executives to help curb the burn rate.
Step 1:
Before I accepted the job, I would accept that there is a very high probability that this will end badly and that my reputation will never recover. I would wonder whether the VCs who were instrumental in bringing me in would stand by me when this goes to hell, or would I take the lion's share of the blame?
So, I would make sure that my compensation from Uber was properly invested so that I could survive the rest of my life if I could never get another job. And, I would work with a very competent money manager to optimize every single dollar that I would get from Uber.
Step 2:
If Uber is going to reach a liquidity event, it needs some highly competent executives who can take leadership of their respective areas. At this point, Uber badly needs a CEO/COO/CFO troika that can work together. Therefore, my first real step as CEO would be to help the board recruit solid AAA+ players for the two remaining positions.
Step 3:
While recruitment was ongoing, I would undertake two major initiatives in tandem. First, I would conduct my own investigation into what happened and learn as much about the previous culture that I could. There is a very high probability that this investigation would lead to a new round of firings. Therefore, the second initiative would be to be completely transparent and wholly public about what is going on. I have to assume that every single thing that I would do would be heavily scrutinized by the media, investors and stakeholders. Therefore, I would get in front of it and send weekly emails to employees/investors that were cross posted on a blog. If journalists want to see fire, they can see the same fire that I see. In a news vacuum, it gets more tempting to print dubious sources who may or may not actually be telling the truth.
Step 4:
Once I had a solid grasp on what happened (and once I knew that the bad apples were all promoted to Uber customers, or maybe drivers), I would start fixing the culture. Hopefully, by this point, we would have at least a COO on board. With her help, I would make sure that HR was fully independent and powerful. Simply put, the new Uber would have a strong 'no asshole' rule.
Step 5:
SDC be damned....Uber drivers need to be promoted to first class citizens within the Uber ecosystem. Once I was fairly confident that the culture now marginalized assholes, I would work closely with drivers. I would argue that Uber drivers have an incredible understanding of all the efficiencies and inefficiencies within Uber's market. Therefore, we need to empower drivers and encourage them to come forward with any suggestions to make their jobs better. I argue that Uber is closely tied to their drivers. As drivers succeed and make money, Uber should succeed and make even more.
In 180 days, sadly, I don't think I would have the chance to put a true focus on rider demands. In fact, I'm not even sure that I would have time to engage the drivers. But, these five steps are my perfect case.