Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi helped kick-off Fortune’s Brain Storm TECH yesterday with some candid talk.
“Sometimes it takes a punch in the face to see things clearly. This was one of the moments for me,” he said. He was referring to the breaking news that Uber is facing a federal investigation over alleged gender discrimination. During an all-hands employee meeting earlier the same day, he told the crowd that his first plan was to complain that the news had once again leaked. But he decided to listen instead.“This was a rough week, but it was incredibly motivating.”
But he did say the steady drip of bad news has been a challenge. Recently, Uber’s HR chief, Liane Hornsey, resigned after claims that she ignored allegations of racial discrimination. Then on Friday, Uber’s chief operating officer, Barney Harford faced public claims that he had made insensitive comments about women and minorities. He’s now getting coaching.
Khosrowshahi acknowledged the issues, but said no comment. “We take very seriously anything having to do with anyone, but especially with our senior officers. We’re not going to run a process through the press, we’re going to run a process the right way.”
Click through for more coverage on Khosrowshahi’s other plans for Uber here.
Be sure to tune in at 11:20 Aspen time for a Diversity and Inclusion presentation from Christa Quarles, CEO, OpenTable, followed immediately by our town hall discussion on “Techlash,” tackling the issues facing the beleaguered tech sector, from data privacy and fake news to brogrammer behavior and inclusion.
OPENING REMARKS: CAN TECH FIND ITS HUMANITY?
Speaker: Tristan Harris, Founder, Center for Humane Technology
Featured participants:
Amy Banse, Managing Director, Comcast Ventures
Natalie Evans Harris, co-founder and COO, Ecosystem Development, BrightHive
Jeff Glueck, CEO, Foursquare
Hemant Taneja, Managing Director, General Catalyst
Moderator: Jo Ling Kent, NBC News