Travis Kalanick may not be CEO, but the bleeding at Uber continues, Recode reports.
Ryan Graves, the ride-hailing giant’s first employee, will step down from his spot as senior vice president of global operations in September, he wrote in an internal email.
Graves’ unconventional hiring became a part of Uber legend. In January 2010, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick tweeted out a job application less than a year after founding the company.
Looking 4 entrepreneurial product mgr/biz-dev killer 4 a location based service.. pre-launch, BIG equity, big peeps involved–ANY TIPS??
— travis kalanick (@travisk) January 6, 2010
Eager for a new challenge, Graves wrote a short tweet that would turn him into a millionaire.
@KonaTbone heres a tip. email me :) graves.ryan[at]gmail.com
— =ryan graves= (@ryangraves) January 6, 2010
His first role at the company was as general manager. He then had a short stint as CEO and president before landing in his latest and final position.
Uber is looking for a new CEO after Kalanick was pressured to resign. Graves says he doesn’t want his decision to take away from the introduction of the company’s new leader.
Graves will now focus on his role as a board director at Uber.
“In some ways my focus going forward will not actually change very much,” Graves wrote in the email. “It remains all about people, and it’s clear to me the stability of our board of directors, the selection of our new CEO, and the empowerment of our management team is what is needed most.”
You can read Graves’ full email over at Recode.
