Travis Kalanick Is Leaving Uber's Board: Experts On Why, What's Next

Uber Technologies Inc UBER co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned as CEO in 2017 and confirmed this week that he will leave the ride-hailing company's board by the end of the year.  

Wedbush Analyst Unsurprised 

Kalanick's resignation is far from surprising, as he has been actively selling his stake in Uber and to date has sold nearly all of his shares, Wedbush analyst Ygal Arounian said Tuesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell." For the time being, it is "hard to speculate" if Kalanick's actions are a sign of a lack of confidence in the company's outlook, he said. 

Wedbush continues to rate Uber's stock with a bullish rating despite a "tough year" for the industry and negative investor sentiment, Arounian said. On the other hand, the global ride-hailing market remains large, and it is "pretty clear" Uber is one of the two dominant players, he said. 

Kalanick's Departure No Loss For Uber, Swisher Says 

Kalanick's resignation from Uber's board and the sale of most of his stock is likely more of a function of his loss of influence and inability to dictate Uber's direction the way he wants to, Kara Swisher, executive editor of Recode, also said on "Closing Bell."

On Uber's end, there is unlikely to be any major setback due to the loss of a co-founder, she said. 

Kalanick is an "interesting and creative" entrepreneur, but Uber needs individuals who can help guide Uber's execution and economics, the journalist said. 

"They have had plenty of vision and they now need to figure out what the business model for this company is." 

Don't Bet Against Vengeance

Kalanick is motivated by vengeance, as evidenced by his latest business venture, CloudKitchens, Geoff Lewis, Bedrock Capital's founder and managing partner, said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Kalanick's new business isn't "on the radar at all," and this is by design, as it is meant to target the differentiated supply of Uber Eats, Lewis said. 

Over the next 10 years, Kalanick could "own the one differentiated value layer of the entire delivery space," he said.

The end result could also mean Kalanick returns to running Uber, Lewis said. 

"When you have an exceptionally talented entrepreneur who has a lot of vengeance, you always want to bet on that person," he said. "Vengeance is just a phenomenal motivator in business."

Uber shares were trading 0.76% higher at $30.67 at the time of publication Thursday. 

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Photo by Heisenberg Media via Wikimedia.