Uber chief said that culture in the workplace still needed to be improved

The CEO of Uber said that the workplace culture of the car reservation company was yet to be improved, the same day a senior officer resigned following reports that he had been sanctioned for allegations of sexual misconduct.

Dara Khosrowshahi said Monday at an event organized by the Financial Times in London that, although "we have changed society", there was still work to be done after sexism and harassment were widespread at Uber under his predecessor, Travis Kalanick.

"I must finally be responsible. I think the intention is there [but] we are not perfect, "Khosrowshahi said.

He made his comments in front of the Wall Street Journal. He said Cameron Poetzscher, a former Goldman Sachs banker who had played an important role in securing Uber's equity and debt financing, had resigned from the company.

Last month, the newspaper announced that Uber had appealed to a law firm to investigate alleged misconduct allegations against Mr. Poetzscher, who had been working at Uber since 2014. The investigation corroborated some of these claims, Uber sent him a formal warning. annual bonus and forced him to take awareness training.

Allegations that Uber favored a toxic work culture were among the controversies that led to the ouster of Mr. Kalanick in July 2017. Mr. Khosrowshahi, who returned to office two months later, promised to clean up Uber's culture and instilled the fundamental value of "doing what's right".

"We have been very focused on some of the external emergencies. . . My first year was rather external, "Khosrowshahi said at the FT event.

"My second year will be much more internally focused to ensure that we are not only the company we dream of being in the world, but more importantly that we are for all our employees."

At present, about 100 million active users use our services. . . We want to take this 100m to a billion

Uber confirmed Poetzscher's resignation and said Nelson Chai, his newly appointed chief financial officer, would oversee the development team of the company he was running while the company was looking for a replacement. Mr. Poetzscher could not be reached immediately for comment. Uber has not given any reason for his departure.

Mr. Poetzscher, who participated in the $ 9.3 billion SoftBank-led fundraiser and Uber's recent $ 2 billion sale of junkie bonds, is leaving the company as it prepares for an IPO scheduled for next year at a valuation up to 100 billion dollars.

Mr Khosrowshahi said Monday that Uber wanted to reach one billion customers, highlighting the ambitious project that the company will do on Wall Street in anticipation of its IPO.

The San Francisco-based company is focusing on expanding food delivery, bicycles and scooters, and even public transit to illustrate the range of opportunities it offers. beyond its activity of deficit company of origin.

"At present, about 100 million active users use our services. We want to invest very, very strongly and pool technology and public transport, and we want to reach $ 100 million, "Khosrowshahi said.

The IPO of Uber could take place in early 2019, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr Khosrowshahi said that the IPO would most likely take place during the second half of the year.

The company, which lost $ 4.4 billion in 2017, is expected to continue losing money as it invests new investments. Khosrowshahi said the main car reservation business would be profitable "in the next two years".

The managing director said he hoped that Uber would become "the Amazon of Transportation", applying its platform and technology to all kinds of on-demand services. This would generate new sources of revenue for the company and spread bets on a global transportation market estimated at $ 6 billion.

"What was an aha for me was that, as we are just a carpool company, we are essentially targeting a share of the market and not the entire market," Khosrowshahi said on Monday.

"So, in the end, whether you want to go from point A to point B by car, bus, bike, scooter or metro or possibly by flying car, whether or not these services are operated by Uber or a third, we want to be the platform on which you come every day, "he said.

Since its inception as an app to call a private luxury car in 2009, Uber's ambitions and reach have broadened. Uber Eats, its food delivery service established three years ago, claims to be the largest company of its kind outside of China and is expected to post a gross business turnover of more than $ 6 billion this year . Its freight brokerage division is expected to generate $ 500 million in revenue over the next 12 months.

The company even plans, beyond transportation, other forms of work-on-demand. He is testing a short-term staffing firm in Chicago, FT reported last week.