By Steven Burke on August 27, 2017 on CRN.com
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman is “on the fence” with regard to whether she would consider an offer to be the next CEO of the embattled ride sharing company because she wants a “rejiggered board and wide latitude” over management changes, according to a report from Recode.
With former GE CEO Jeff Immelt taking himself out of the running and the Uber board set to vote on a new CEO on Sunday, Recode reported that Whitman is “still on the fence said sources familiar with her thinking and she has communicated a number of changes at the car-hailing company that she would require to consider any offer lobbed her way.”
Whitman – an early Uber investor- has advised the company in the wake of a sexual harassment controversy that ultimately led to the ouster of Uber founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick.
Recode has reported that Whitman wants an “understanding” that Kalanick will not be as “deeply involved in the company as he has been” if she were to join the company as CEO.
Further, Whitman wants to shake up the Uber board of directors, “limiting its role in the operations of the business,” according to Recode.
Recode also reported that Whitman wants “wide latitude to appointment management and rethink the structure of the business.”
An HPE spokesman reached Sunday by CRN once again reiterated Whitman’s strong statement that she will not be the next Uber CEO.
“Normally I do not comment on rumors, but the speculation about my future and Uber has become a distraction,” Whitman said in a series of tweets on July 31 after reports surfaced that she was on a short list for the Uber CEO job. “So let me make this as clear as I can. I am fully committed to HPE and plan to remain the company’s CEO. We have a lot of work still to do at HPE and I am not going anywhere. Uber’s CEO will not be Meg Whitman.”
Uber could not be reached for comment.
[highlight type=”one”]Bob Venero, CEO of Holbrook, N.Y.-based solution provider Future Tech, No. 119 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500 , said he would be sorry to see Whitman leave HPE, but she would definitely be a great CEO for Uber and have a positive impact on the ride-sharing company.”There is no doubt Meg would go in with a no-nonsense attitude and bring structure and deal positively with a lot of the challenges Uber is facing from a social, community and government perspective,” he said.[/highlight]
[highlight type=”one”]Venero said Antonio Neri – who was appointed president of HPE by Whitman just two months ago and is the presumptive heir to the HPE CEO seat – would continue the HPE channel renaissance that took hold under Whitman.[/highlight]
[highlight type=”one”]”Meg has accomplished a lot of what she wanted to do at HPE,” Venero said. “She has definitely put in place the right program in support of the partner community. That program would continue under Antonio if she decides to take the Uber job.”[/highlight]