Despite his company’slitany of problems , Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was supposed to look onstage at Code Conference , a fancy tech assemblage , at the end of May . It would have been a good meter for theyellingexecutive to weigh in on the allegation ofsexual harassmentat his companionship , theongoing investigationinto those claims , theassorted lawsuitsUber faces from its challenger , and the fact that long ton of high - visibility employees — evenPR flacks — are head up for the exit .
Would this be a merriment consultation ? Probably not . But from Kalanick ’s perspective , it could present an chance to render to change over the endure narrative about the current state of the ship’s company , or put forth an argument for why he should remain as chief operating officer to a ballroom full of industriousness folk .
But Kalanickwon’t be goingto Code Conference this class . alternatively , according to an Uber voice , he wo n’t be able deliver his musings because of “ the delay of the Holder recap . ” ( The “ Holder critique ” to which the spokesperson refers is former Attorney General Eric Holder’sinvestigationinto claim of a caller culture marred by intimate harassment . ) In his office will be Uber board member Arianna Huffington , who will no doubt talk about how the emphasis of being on Uber ’s board has affected her eternal rest docket .
https://jalopnik.com/uber-is-doomed-1792634203
At first glance , this might not seem like a gravid deal . People cancel on events all the clip in the heart of major crises , correct ? Well , sure . But they usually do n’t scrub on this conference . In fact , as authors ( and Code league creators ) Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg noted in their announcement , this cancelation is actually unprecedented for the Code conference ( and its predecessor , the All Things five hundred conference ):
Microsoft ’s Bill Gates number despite the Vista disaster ; Apple ’s Steve Jobs come despite the steal iPhone image thrashing ; various Yahoo gaffer came despite heaps of bad publicity and takeover rumors ; Steve Case came presently after the gross mortification of AOL ’s failed merger with Time Warner . Even Ralph de la Vega of AT&T came during controversial connection failures .
And then there was Groupon ’s Andrew Mason , who managed to make everyone laugh while answering questions despite the cryptic trouble at his company . ( By the fashion , Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes appeared at the Wall Street Journal conference just days after the Journal published a annihilating investigation of her stage business . )
To repeat , Elizabeth Holmes show up at a Wall Street Journal conference a few days after that paper ’s reporting fructify into movement the destruction of her byplay . Elizabeth Holmes has bigger clump than Travis Kalanick .
When you consider that plenty of other executives have observe their commitment , even in the light of very bad thing happening around them , blaming the “ hold of the Holder review ” just looks pathetic — and a bit unbelievable .
In that light , here are some alibi Travis Kalanick should have used rather .
He wastoo busy yellingat someone else .
Uber’sflying carswon’t be ready until 2020 .
Hedeleted his Uber appand getting his account back is a bit of a pain in the neck .
Google repossessed his self - driving railroad car because thetech was swipe .
It ’s better for Uber’sdiversity numbersif a charwoman shows up and is drive to take responsibility for his pathetic determination .
He ’ll be busytagging # undeleteon walls in a team - construction exercise with employee .
He ’ll be in stemma forThe Last Jedi . The movie wo n’t be out until December , you say , but the best seats are up for snap RIGHT NOW .
His Nintendo Switch is finally imagine to make it and he ca n’t trust UPS to leave it with the help .
He ’d rather be atan escort bar , have employees feel uncollectible about themselves .
He ’s been banned by Lyft for trying to put them out of byplay .
If plow correctly , Kalanick could have used the conference as a way to spin the elbow room that he really can take Uber out of this mess . alternatively , he ’s acting like a babe and inspire further signs thatUber is doomed .
Uber
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , science , and polish news program in your inbox daily .
News from the time to come , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
