
Uber's VP of global vehicle programs is out - alfozan
https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/17/ubers-vp-of-global-vehicle-programs-is-out/
======
ChuckMcM
All the departures can't help but make you wonder what is up.

Something Scott McNealy told me about becoming a senior leader is this, "The
higher you are in the company the more easily something you have no control
over can get you fired." It isn't exactly intuitive but it builds on the
notion of leadership that doesn't like the situation and wants to do
_something._

I think Uber is navigating a really difficult time, some of the challenges are
their own fault, some are situational, but the turmoil in the stories almost
palpable. While it might be tempting for someone to leave thinking the ship is
sinking, it could also be pretty powerful to be part of the leadership team
that navigated through that time.

~~~
Analemma_
Especially when Uber is by far the most valuable unicorn and you'd think these
guys would want to stay on for their IPO payday. Maybe they know it's not
happening?

~~~
ChuckMcM
I believe it would not serve them well to consider its 'unicorn' status, as
that emphasizes what might be its biggest challenge, justifying its alleged
value, and losing money at the rate they do.

Most (if not all) of the companies that went Chapter 7 (complete liquidation)
in the dot com boom were like Uber, racing to grow their place into a
profitable level of business through private placements. When people stopped
believing they could do that, they stopped participating in the equity rounds,
and the cash burn was so horrendous that they couldn't slow down if they
wanted to. The only possible outcome was a complete flameout, and with no
access to capital, and a business model that didn't make money yet, all they
could do was go home.

Maybe insiders see something like that coming, maybe not, but I _have_ worked
in companies that were going to really existentially tough times and it isn't
fun. It's actual work. You really learn who is a fair weather soldier when
that happens.

~~~
DamnYuppie
Can you elaborate on 'fair weather soldier"? As employees of a company we are
not soldiers we don't have to obey orders. It would be irresponsible to stick
it out at a company that is going to flame out. If the option is work in a
horrendously stressful environment with no real upside vs get another job that
is as equally rewarding but more stable and less stressful that is a no
brainner to me.

I previously was a startup were we worked very long hours over a prolonged
period of time trying to turn the ship around. Unfortunately we didn't
succeed. Yet I look back at that and don't feel like it was a positive
experience where we could collectively feel good about our exploits. I saw
what was going on and decided to try and work through it. Yet hindsight being
what it is I don't foresee me making the same decision if I find myself in
similar situations.

~~~
ChuckMcM
The term 'fair weather soldier' is a colloquialism that describes people who
are present for the "fun and glamour" but leave as soon as things get
difficult or un-glamorous.

Generally when a place is hip enough to attract people just so they can say "I
work at X!" you'll get people for whom the _only_ reason they work there is
because it is hip and cool to do so. And when it starts being 'uncool' or
'lame' those same people will find the exits.

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nebabyte
> It’s also not clear if he left as a result of the sexual harassment
> allegations, but something tells me that scandal probably didn’t make him
> particularly pumped to stick around

"I don't have any facts, sources, or even a quote to substantiate this, but
hey, _something tells me_ it's related"

Dude could have left for any number of reasons. Stick to reporting the facts.

~~~
friendzis
I disagree to a degree. There are feeds with minimal journalism that usually
stick close to reporting bare facts. Journalism as opposed to reporting
implies at least some level of commentary and surrounding context, both of
which can easily be subjective.

In this particular instance the context could have been provided in a better
way, but it is context nevertheless.

~~~
hueving
No, making up motivations is not journalism.

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amputect
FTA: "Marakby’s departure comes not too long after Uber lost its head of
comms, president, head of AI Labs, VP of growth and SVP of engineering."

This feels like one of those things that's going to keep snowballing.

~~~
jplasmeier
Does anyone have data on the departure of executives at other companies, past
or present? Of course the reaction is that this is something like an exodus,
but I would love to see data on exec-churn at similarly sized companies for
comparison's sake.

~~~
yeukhon
I don't think there's a public dataset for this, but would be a fun project
for someone to crawl and figure out a number.

My best offer is here Yahoo. Just before and after the announcement of
acquisition, there was a bleeding of top executives from Yahoo.

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aresant
"If we are not tied for first [in autonomous vehicles), then the person who is
in first, or the entity that's in first, then rolls out a ride-sharing network
that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's, then Uber is no longer
a thing."

(1) [http://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-interview-
on-...](http://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-interview-on-self-
driving-cars-future-driver-jobs-2016-8)

~~~
dexterdog
It will be hard to be much cheaper since Uber is currently losing money hand-
over-fist on a per-ride basis.

~~~
Neliquat
That train undoubtedly has a caboose.

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linkregister
Is the rate of executives departing greater than at a similar-sized tech
company? I'm skeptical that I'm being fed a narrative meant to drive
readership. I don't mean to say that there is a conscious intent by media, but
it could be a feedback loop of public interest which increases reporting about
a subject.

Maybe it's wrong to doubt this, but I've been misled plenty of times by
journalists committing the base rate fallacy, weaving unrelated events into a
narrative, etc.

~~~
hackuser
> Is the rate of executives departing greater than at a similar-sized tech
> company?

This seems like a big stretch. Can you name a company that has lost its "head
of comms, president, head of AI Labs, VP of growth and SVP of engineering" and
now the VP of Global Vehicle Programs?

Not that they should be held to the same standard, but the allegations in the
parent are based only on suspicions without any factual foundation - we'd be
very disappointed in journalism that did the same.

~~~
eddieroger
Well, head of AI and SVP of engineering could be representative of an internal
shift in focus, so relatively easily explained - maybe they weren't moving
fast enough with autonomous vehicles? Head of comms is easy too - lots of
press recently, so this could be anything from vanilla burnout to a
replacement of someone who can handle it better. VP of Growth could also be as
simple as they're not growing at the rate expected, so someone has to take the
hit.

Could all of it be related to the same thing, and that thing being their
culture? Sure. But couldn't it also just be that these things happen, and
everyone is so focused on Uber that it's getting an inappropriate amount of
attention and analysis for things that really do just happen on their own from
time to time? I'd argue yes.

~~~
tyingq
The SVP Engineering departure, though, didn't appear to be planned at all.

Uber found themselves in a scandal, then a previously undisclosed scandal of
the same nature came to light. They had to act, or find themselves in a deeper
hole.

~~~
eddieroger
What would "appear to be planned" look like from the outside? Maybe if they
were spotted meeting with execs elsewhere or something, sure. But if it was a
termination, that's slow and wouldn't be apparent from outside, and if he just
chose to leave, it would be more abrupt, but we still don't, and probably
never will, know the reason, and until he says it everything is conjecture.

~~~
tyingq
Sorry, I'm confused. It was widely reported.

Are you saying the news stories about the nature of Amit's departure were all
pure conjecture? They did appear to use unnamed internal sources, but it would
be odd to go out that far on a defamation limb if you didn't have credible
sources.

Edit: Or ignoring all that, the short tenure implies unplanned all on its own.

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nojvek
Either Uber is getting the cleanse it needs or Uber will our generation's
pets.com

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sidcool
This article makes a lot of assumptions on the reasons. And hopes people buy
it.

~~~
dexterdog
Isn't that what journalism is today?

~~~
ysavir
Only in part. Journalism today is a clickbait title to get you to see ads.
Nothing that follows the title is actually relevant.

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tyingq
I guess the upside is there's so much bad news, nobody has to know exactly why
you left. Probably nobody wanted to leave right after Susan Fowler's post, for
fear of being viewed as complicit in that mess and being ousted as a result.

Edit: Bad wording. Not suggesting he was involved. Just saying now is a good
time to go, earlier could have been awkward.

~~~
Flammy
> Marakby joined Uber last April

Or just waiting for that 1 year vesting cliff?

~~~
sk5t
Who's staying extra months for 1/4 of a hiring grant staked to an already sky-
high valuation?

~~~
hkmurakami
They're on RSUs and have a comp structure with a heavy equity component. It
totally makes sense to stay until the cliff.

True vesting is delayed until an exit event. He won't have a tax hit.

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davidgerard
This is a reblog. The source:
[http://www.autonews.com/article/20170417/MOBILITY/170419851/...](http://www.autonews.com/article/20170417/MOBILITY/170419851/uber-
loses-another-top-executive-as-marakby-departs)

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dingo_bat
I hope uber doesn't fail. I don't want to buy a car :(

~~~
goldbeck
Are lyft etc... non-options?

Personally, I'd _love_ to see the most predatory of the on-demand ride
services flame out because of bad PR and an unsustainable (and did I mention
predatory?) business model.

~~~
dingo_bat
We don't have lyft in Bangalore. We have Ola, but it is crap compared to uber.

~~~
netsharc
What's preventing Uber customers to gather a few phone number of Uber drivers,
and if Uber dies, to message them directly for a ride? It's a bit of a hassle,
admittedly, but if you can contact the providers directly...

~~~
dingo_bat
How many drivers' numbers will I collect? I need the app to contact the
nearest driver. Also, the pool service is highly difficult to recreate without
the infrastructure uber provides. You'd basically have to start another uber.

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chambo622
> Uber told Auto News that it was not related to the lawsuit with Waymo.

Okay

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techwizrd
How is it possible for them to continue recruiting talent at this rate? How
does the company provide a clear direction for employees when executives are
fleeing?

~~~
tyingq
_" Opportunities for advancement have never been better. There's room, and
real possibilities for internal promotion to key leadership positions"_

~~~
taneq
Sure there's plenty of cheese on the ship now that most of the rats have left,
but the klaxon in the background must still be causing a few doubts.

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headhuntar
I think we should look at who in the executive is still around. Sometimes the
group leaving and the group staying have different visions. The group leaving
could have not agreed with Uber's current vision and the group staying refused
to change or vice versa.

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empressplay
Uber's autonomous vehicle program is DOA so I suppose this comes as no
surprise, really

~~~
ExactoKnight
Is there any way they can survive the lawsuit?!

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AJRF
"In the past few months, a gazillion people have left Uber. Ok, a gazillion is
a bit of an exaggeration"

TechCrunch is so trashy.

~~~
hueving
At least it's one step above "literally a gazillion people".

------
Flammy
> Marakby’s departure comes not too long after Uber lost its head of comms,
> president, head of AI Labs, VP of growth and SVP of engineering.

