Google’s longtime executive David Drummond resigns from Uber’s board of directors a few weeks ago. Uber confirms the report in an email to The Verge. Including the other duties at Alphabet, Drummond is the chairman of its numerous investment arms which includes GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. GV has invested $250 million in Uber in 2013.
The news regarding resignation comes after a report from The Information earlier today which claimed that Drummond was not allowed to attend the board meetings at Uber due to concerns over a conflict of interest arising from potential competition between Google and Uber. Both these companies are working on the promising self-driving car projects which aims at providing robot ride-hailing services.
Drummond disclosed that he recently stepped down from Uber’s board given the overlap between the two companies in an emailed statement. “Uber is a phenomenal company, and it’s been a privilege working with the team over the last two plus years. GV remains an enthusiastic investor and Google will continue to partner with Uber. I want to wish Travis all the best for the future.”
Currently, the head of GV David Krane remains a board observer with Uber. As of now, there are no plans to replace Drummond on the board, said an Uber spokesperson to the Verge. The company has gained Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington as a board member earlier this year which seems a promising decision.
“It’s been a pleasure having David on the board,” said Uber CEO Travis Kalanick in a statement. “He’s been a sage advisor and a great personal friend. I wish David and Alphabet the best, and look forward to continued cooperation and partnership.”
This resignation seems to be similar enough with Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt who quit Apple’s board of directors in 2009 over concerns about a conflict of interest between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android smartphone platforms.
Uber’s board of directors now consists of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Uber SVP of Global Operations Ryan Graves, Uber cofounder Garrett Camp, TPG Chairman David Bondsman, Benchmark’s Bill Gurley, Arianna Huffington, political strategist David Plouffe, and Yasir Al Rumayyan of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
The cycle of resignation and acquiring new prominent personalities has been never-ending. The only thing to be considered now is that will it be an advantage to the company or not?
