Problems still abound for ridesharing giant Uber Technologies Inc. after two top C-suiters announced they were leaving the company late last week.
Chief Operating Officer Barney Harford and Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Messina said they are both exiting the company, according to a report from Bloomberg.
It means that CEO Dara Khosrowshashi will return to the company’s base of operations in San Francisco to oversee its core business after spending the better part of the last two years getting ahead of the company’s initial public offering.
According to Bloomberg, Harford recently came under fire in an internal review surrounding racially insensitive comments he made last year. The investigation found no evidence of those comments and no evidence of discrimination.
There also were questions regarding Harford’s management style as Meghan Joyce, a senior leader reporting directly to Harford, resigned earlier this year and Andrew Macdonald, another direct report to Harford, spent more time discussing operations with Khosrowshashi than his boss, according to Bloomberg.
CNBC reported on Monday that the company was on a hiring spree in New York, in search of fintech and bank workers in a push to create more “engagement and loyalty to the Uber platform.”
In its job posting on LinkedIn, the company said it was looking for people to “design and implement new, end-to-end financial product experiences for Uber’s Consumer and Supply bases, working within the Uber Rider/Driver/Eats/Restaurant apps.”
The ad said the company was looking to “build new payment experiences” and help “supply customer groups effectively and efficiently manage and spend the money they make on Uber.”
The job posting has since been closed.
The exodus of executives and move to create a financial division in New York came amid news that the company posted a $1.01 million loss last week as Uber continues to underperform its IPO offering.
After closing at $45 per share Friday, Uber continued to drop as its share price dipped to $44.02 by Tuesday’s opening bell.
In an email to employees Friday, Khosrowshashi said a month out of the company’s IPO was a good time to “think about how best to organize for the future.”
“I now have the ability to be even more involved in the day-to-day operations of our biggest businesses, the core platform of Rides and Eats, and have decided they should report directly to me,” the email said, according to Bloomberg.
Harford will be replaced by Macdonald while Jill Hazelbaker, who currently oversees Uber’s policy and communications, will take over for Messina — who worked for Uber just nine months after joining from Coca-Cola Co.
Khosrowshashi said, in terms of the marketing change, that “marketing is so important to our business, and our brand continues to be challenged.”
Between bad press, a poor performing IPO and public scandal issues, Uber continues to be challenged, and its stock price reflects those challenges.