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Uber Loses Top Executive As Its CEO Ponders A Leave Of Absence

Uber's senior vice president has left the company — just after an independent probe into the company's culture presented its findings.

By: Matt Picht

Posted at 9:11 AM, Jun 13, 2017

and last updated 2017-06-13 09:11:09-04

A top-level executive at Uber has left the company, and its CEO is reportedly considering stepping aside for a bit.

Emil Michael was a senior vice president for Uber. He's often described as the right-hand man of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

He's also attracted controversy — a 2014 BuzzFeed report said he threatened to dig up dirt on journalists critical of the company. Both Michael and Kalanick apologized for those remarks.

Michael's exit comes after Uber's board received the results of an independent probe, headed by former Attorney General Eric Holder, looking into the company's culture. Michael's departure was reportedly one of the recommendations made in that probe.

In an internal email announcing his departure, Michael praised Uber's diversity and called working there "the experience of a lifetime." It's not clear whether he left the company voluntarily.

Uber is still coping with waves of bad press about its internal culture and business practices. The company recently laid off 20 people after a separate probe into sexual harassment at the company.

Now, Kalanick is reportedly thinking about a leave of absence, though that may not be tied to any report. He's still coping with the loss of his mother and the serious injury of his father in a boating acccident.