A couple of early investors in Uber are apparently unhappy with how the company is dealing with the recent allegations of sexual harassment at the company. Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor, who are both early stage investors in the company, have expressed their disappointment through a public medium post.
Referring to the recent fallout from an ex-employee’s public post regarding the sexual harassment she faced from her superiors while at Uber, and the corrective measures the company was taking to address the issue, Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor said:
We are speaking up now because we are disappointed and frustrated; we feel we have hit a dead end in trying to influence the company quietly from the inside.
We are disappointed to see that Uber has selected a team of insiders to investigate its destructive culture and make recommendations for change. To us, this decision is yet another example of Uber’s continued unwillingness to be open, transparent, and direct.
In case you don’t remember, Uber recently set up a committee comprising of former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran, who are also partners at law firm Covington & Burling, to look into the matter. The company already had an investigation underway with Uber board member Arianna Huffington, Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey and the company’s associate general counsel Angela Padilla taking part.
In their post, Kapor Klein and Kapor said that it was a mistake to bring folks who had a pre-existing relationship with Uber on-board to conduct what was being touted as an independent investigation.
Speaking about the committees set up to investigate the matter, they said:
This group is not set up to come up with an accurate analysis of the culture and a tough set of recommendations.
They also went on to say that they were all to willing to help Uber.
We remain at the ready to continue to help if the company is indeed serious about a fundamental analysis and potential overhaul of every aspect of its policies, practices, complaint systems, training, upward communication systems, sentiment analysis, and commitment from the top. Both of us have helped countless tech companies over the years as investors and advisors. There’s a wealth of knowledge and experience to be tapped.
However, as early stage investors into the company, won’t they appear to be related to Uber as well? Maybe not as strongly as Ariana (who is a board member) or as the company’s Chief Human Resource Officer, but a connection is still there nevertheless. Which is something they appear to feel so strongly against. Meanwhile, the case and the resulting fallout from it has already led to a resurrection of the #deleteuber campaign on social media platforms.
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