Uber’s period of intense crisis isn’t over just yet, even though after more than a month of trying to manage bad press the company probably wishes there was some light at the end of the tunnel. After the hilarious, yet harrowing, story of Busy Phillips’ recent Uber ride from hell, Uber probably thought this week’s news cycle couldn’t get any worse before it finally got better or at least evened out.
That’s not to be though, as Head of Policy and Communications Rachel Whetstone is leaving the post she’s filled capably since 2015. The person who was handling policy and communications during a crisis involving both company policy and public communications heading out the door abruptly? Probably not what Uber leadership was looking to have happen. According to the New York Times, Whetstone explained,
“I joined Uber because I love the product — and that love is as strong today as it was when I booked my very first ride six years ago…I am incredibly proud of the team that we’ve built — and that just as when I left Google, a strong and brilliant woman will be taking my place.”
Uber founder Travis Kalanick stated that she was leaving “amicably and of her own volition” but that doesn’t really help the fact that she is leaving on short notice and the public perception that move could bring. Rumors say that Kalanick and Whetstone did not get along swimmingly, disagreeing over “external communications” but that is standard for many top companies where each executive isn’t exactly having pizza parties with others.
Whetstone follows three major executives who have left in recent weeks for various reasons, including the company’s president.
(via The New York Times)