Travis Kalanick's scandal-filled Uber ride is over

The US ride-hailing service Uber announced on Tuesday its co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick is stepping down from the company’s board of directors at the end of this month to focus on other projects.

“It seems like the right moment for me to focus on my current business and philanthropic pursuits,” Kalanick said in a statement. “I’m proud of all that Uber has achieved, and I will continue to cheer for its future from the sidelines.”

Kalanick has been steadily unloading his Uber shares since a lockup ended in November. According to SEC filings, he sold more than $2.5 billion-worth of Uber stock, with roughly 5.8 million shares remaining, or less than 10 percent of his holdings. At the current pace, he’ll likely be completely divested from Uber within days.

A co-founder of Uber in 2009, he resigned as the company’s CEO in June 2017 under pressure from shareholders, following a series of scandals and an exodus of top executives. The scandals included revelations of questionable spy programs, claims of sexual harassment and discrimination, as well as criticism of the way Kalanick had been running the company.

However, Kalanick continued to exert influence over the company and even surprised many by appointing multiple board members in late 2017.

READ MORE: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick quits under pressure from investors

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he was “enormously grateful for Travis’ vision and tenacity while building Uber.”

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