Uber CEO Kalanick Resigns

Embattled Uber Technologies Inc. co-founder Travis Kalanick, 40, has resigned as CEO under pressure from investors. Uber says he will remain on the company’s board.

Kalanick had begun a leave of absence on June 13 after acknowledging his management shortcomings. He was persuaded to step down by a letter from a group of Uber’s biggest investors. The company currently is being run by a 14-member committee of remaining managers.

The ride-hailing service has attracted more than $15 billion in investments since its launch in 2009 as UberCab. The company has burned through billions of dollars since then, spreading its operations to nearly 600 cities worldwide. Last year it generated about $20 billion in ride bookings.

But along the way the company also fought with its drivers over compensation and tangled with dozens of municipalities and entire countries that objected to Uber’s unlicensed service format.

Uber has been embroiled in a series of legal and employee crises, many of them caused by Kalanick’s brash and confrontational style. The company’s cultural flaws were detailed in a report earlier this month that suggested 47 improvements. Uber’s board promptly agreed to implement all of them.

Since January Uber has lost more than a dozen other top executives, including its president, chief business officer and the heads of engineering, production, finance, communications, autonomous vehicle development and global vehicle programs.