Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Uber legal chief: Why the ride-hailing giant deserves a second chance

Because they have to get the IPO floated before the market cracks?
No?
Let's try GeekWire:
Tony West had a rough first day at Uber.

Instead of setting up his office, getting familiar with the computer system, or locating the restroom, West was making calls to attorneys general all over the country to disclose a 2016 data breach that had not been reported by the company previously.

West is no stranger to complex problems, as a former executive vice president at PepsiCo and high-ranking Justice Department official in the Obama administration before taking the job of chief legal officer at Uber in 2017. Cleaning up messes like these and turning around the company’s toxic reputation have been top priorities for CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and his leadership team since the former leader of Expedia took the top job at Uber in August 2017.

“I knew there would be days when I’d open up the closet and a skeleton that I hadn’t anticipated might kind of tumble out, but luckily those days don’t happen as often as they did when I first started,” West said at the 2018 GeekWire Summit Tuesday.

Uber earned a reputation as a scofflaw, frequently running afoul of local regulations as it grew to become one of the world’s most valuable startups. Soon after Khosrowshahi came on board, the company had lost its license in London, in another low-point, following several simultaneous scandals over the previous year. It has since been restored on a conditional basis.

In February 2017, Susan Fowler, an ex-Uber engineer, published an essay detailing a culture of systemic sexism and a lack of accountability for bad behavior that led many women to leave the company. Fowler’s exposé, data breaches, and other scandals led to several internal and federal investigations. Those scandals eventually forced CEO Travis Kalanick to resign from his post, clearing the way for Khosrowshahi to take the top job.

Khosrowshahi’s tenure hasn’t been without problems of its own. In March, Uber pulled its self-driving test fleet off the road for several months after a woman was struck and killed by an autonomous car in Arizona....MORE
Probably related:

FastCompany, September 26
Uber is spending $10 million to bolster its new image as a transportation company

And:

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