Uber’s top public relations executive is stepping down from her position amid a precarious time for the ride-sharing company, which includes a litany of scandals in recent months.
Rachel Whetstone, head of communications and policy at the tech conglomerate, joined Uber in 2015 after working in the communications department for Google, reports Business Insider. Jill Hazelbaker, who also worked with Whetstone at Google, will replace her former colleague and take over the role.
“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,” Whetstone said, according to Business Insider. “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.” (RELATED: Uber’s Been Using A Secretive Tool To Avoid Detection By Predatory Regulators)
Whetstone is just one of the many high-ranking executives to leave the company in recent weeks.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick asked the senior vice president to resign in February after learning the higher-up faced sexual harassment allegations while at Google, his prior place of employment. Uber President Jeff Jones quit in March after only working there for roughly six months. Jones vaguely attributed his resignation to inconsistent views with fellow leaders.
From allegations of sexual harassment, systemic sexism, rampant lewd behavior, to cutthroat work culture, Uber’s experienced a number of scandals in the past few months. (RELATED: Uber CEO Says He Needs To ‘Grow Up’ After Getting In Heated Argument With A Driver [VIDEO])
The backlash against Uber, both internally and externally, was so strong and pervasive that Kalanick told his staff that he was hiring a chief operating officer to assist him with leadership responsibilities.
While Jones and Whetstone didn’t explicitly ascribe their departures to any one apparent misstep, the timing of their resignations appear to indicate that they are to some degree related to the public embarrassments.
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