Last year, Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) brought Rathnam onboard to serve as chief technology officer. It touted the official as an outstanding addition to its team, and most people thought he would serve long enough to impact the company. Unfortunately, matters haven’t unfolded as expected, and that is after the leader cut short his stay when he submitted his resignation letter. He stepped down in less than a year.
Company’s take
Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi opines, “Sukumar is an incredible talent, and I’m grateful for his leadership and everything he has done for Uber over the last year.”
Rathnam’s predecessor was called Thuan Pham, but he had a longer stay in the company. Reports show that he served it for about seven days before he resigned. Pham agreed to speak in one of the interviews, and he talked about what he thought was going wrong in the organization. The leader was and continues to be opposed to how Khosrowshahi considers the whole idea about self-driving cars. At the year-end, Uber decided to sell out its autonomous vehicle division.
Uber’s eight engineering leads need to report to someone and have been instructed to do so to Khosrowshahi. In other words, they will be reporting directly to Khosrowshahi.
The company has asked Rathnam to cooperate with it to facilitate a smooth transition. The leader has agreed to the arrangement, something that will buy the company the time it needs to find his replacement and get back on track smoothly.
Uber has been through quite a lot
Uber has many challenges ranging from the Covid-19 impact to some of its workers’ protests over the years. For example, there was a time some drivers went to court seeking to be counted as real workers as opposed to being part-time workers.
Another incidence involved a blind woman going to court after an Uber driver refused to carry her with her pet. Uber has stood strong all the way, and the same will probably apply with Rathnam’s departure.
