Uber co-founder resigns from board, sells all shares

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick announced Tuesday he will step down from the company's board of directors, effective Dec. 31.

"Uber has been a part of my life for the past 10 years. At the close of the decade, and with the company now public, it seems like the right moment for me to focus on my current business and philanthropic pursuits," Kalanick said in a statement, according to Fox News Business.

His resignation came two weeks after Uber released a lengthy safety report on Dec. 5, which analyzes ride data from 2017 and 2018, showing that more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported last year on U.S. rides.

Fox reported that Kalanick has been unloading his stake in the ride-sharing company, selling over 90% of his shares that worth more than $2.5 billion, in the past two months.

Earlier in May, the company completed a public stock offering at $45 a share, which gave the company a valuation of about $82 billion. However, shares have fallen nearly 33% since lowering the company's market capitalization to $51.7 billion.

In 2017, Kalanick resigned as CEO after some of the company’s biggest investors examined the firm's handling of harassment and discrimination complaints.