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Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
161–170 of 241 posts
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#162Uber doesn't have a prayer of rehabilitation until Kalanick himself goes. The rot goes straight up to him. Jeff Jones was a much more recent acquisition who came from staid corporate America (Target) -- I don't think he was the problem.
As far as I'm concerned, the rot is pervasive.. Even the drivers. My ex girlfriend was riding an uber and the driver exposed himself. She complained to uber and they claimed they fired him but after the recent revelations, I don't trust that company at all.
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#163Serious question - why hasn't the Uber board replaced Kalanick yet? While it is indisputable he successfully brought Uber to where it is now, it doesn't seem like he has the good judgement to be leading Uber at this stage of the company's lifecycle. Wouldn't the best thing for the company at this point be a complete overhaul of leadership?
Because the boards act in structural manner, rather than by spur of emotion. The new CEO will most likely get some key performance objectives related to current problems as well as revenue (or margin) growth. If there's a reason to believe TK can commit and be evaluated against the same indicators, the incumbent CEO is a better choice since no time is wasted on onboarding and getting familiar with the business. If he…
I agree with respect to the behavior of boards, but the public relations imbroglio could prompt a more rash action. Interim executives could perform his duties for 3-6 months. I believe that.
To me, that the perception of Uber as a toxic company has not abated indicates that, even if the board and investors have tried to ameliorate the situation, they have little control over Kalanick. I'd be fairly upset to see my return hang in the balance over something like that, but I suppose your return is always hanging in the balance over something.
If I were an investor in Uber I would be more concerned about the Waymo/Otto business. If some injunction comes down with that, a huge amount of the value of Uber could evaporate. If their self-driving business stays on course and they oust Kalanick, I'm reasonably certain that they can deliver on a large portion of their valuation.
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would be fun for the remaining bro culture if the board ousted Kalanick and installed Marissa Mayer.
So she could bury the details of getting hacked? Again? Seriously, if she is ever allowed to hold a paying job again, something is wrong with corporate culture.
Interesting...The FBI seems to be praising her for her actions in that space.
"Mayer exhibited 'great leadership and courage while under intense pressure from many entities,' FBI San Francisco Division Special Agent in Charge Jack Bennett said on Wednesday"
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, good luck getting another career corporate exec after someone leaving says something like that in an official statement.
I would hire him. I wouldn't hire you.
It's an innocent mistake, but you've inverted the meaning of OP – he's agreeing with you (and saying this is a huge red flag for any experienced execs Uber might want to hire).
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uber's rates are already unsustainably low. Competition is one thing but unhealthy, unsustainable competition is another thing entirely. It's probably for the best that rates go up a bit.
Best for who? It's better for riders if rates stay unsustainably low and they can get discounted rides at the expense of VCs.
Exceptionally low rates means the cars that are picking people up are not the quality of cars people want to be riding in, nor the quality of drivers they want to be riding with.
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's dangerous to make predictions like that. We've seen worse companies last longer. In the 2008 financial crisis, people from the bottom to the top committed outright fraud; swallowing up other banks whole (PNC bought National City for $5 billion; then got a $5 billion tax credit .. they bought National City for free .. NC wasn't allowed to apply for TARP). Ford sold tank treads to Germany. IBM made punch cards for…
I think the difference with those comparisons is that Uber is a massive startup, and startups have a high tendency to fail. Situations like Uber are the exact reason everyone was issuing warnings about "late stage private companies" last year. Uber might have lots cash on hand, but their unit economics makes them a ticking timebomb, meanwhile the constant PR is sending them into a huge tailspin. Zenefits seems to hav…
i think the self driving car stuff is existential for uber because the drivers cost them too much money. it's a race against their ability to raise capital.
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
The short tenure, job description, and his history makes this bit believable: "Jones determined that the situation at the company was more problematic than he realized."
Not sure if this update came before the HN share, but this is a very explosive statement from Jones: “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."
It is so strange that high level executive says something like this about the company he is leaving.
Burning bridges like this?
Could it be that he was part of the problem and attack is the best defense? Because I cannot find any other reason why somebody would do this.
It is also strange to say that because he was no. 2 in the company and if you are no. 2 you should be able to fix things you do not like.
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am the President of my company, and the founder. I gave up the CEO title to someone who bought a piece of my business. The way we split it is: President (me): Head of corporate strategy, networking, and vision. (I also am the acting CTO but that's kind of not relevant here) CEO (him): Fiscal policy, hiring planning, org chart projections, etc. He is the main executor of plans and also somewhat the Chief Revenue Off…
Thanks, interesting division of duties. I think as a title it's certainly more common in non-tech companies. Oddly though the VP title seems to be a dime a dozen. I have worked at many places where there was department with one or two people and one of them was the VP.
Hmm. We don't have any VPs. Maybe we need to add some.
Also should be noted that I guess the company I run isn't really a tech company. We do sports science stuff.
Re: Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. There's enough social awareness that people don't want to support a company run by jerks like Travis Kalanick. In an era with socially conscious consumers, integrity of leadership matters. It is easy enough to switch to Lyft (I live in major metropolitan area) without any inconvenience. And the Lyft driver's I've talked with about all the controversy say they make more $$$ and are happier driving for Lyft.
i wish that were true outside the US :( i really really want lyft here in AU so that i can ditch uber as it stands, the options are taxis and not getting private transport, which is the option i've taken when it's not too inconvenient
Aside from other taxi booking apps, has anyone other than uber entered or tried to enter the 'ride sharing' business in Australia?