New York (AFP)

A little more than 10 years after co-founding Uber, his former boss Travis Kalanick announced Tuesday his resignation from the company's board of directors from December 31, cutting the last link that united him to the specialist in reservation of cars with driver.

Accused of having encouraged questionable and brutal managerial practices, against a background of sexism and harassment at work, Mr. Kalanick had already had to give up his role as group chief executive in June 2017.

"Uber has been part of my life for the past 10 years. As the decade draws to a close, it seemed like the right time to focus on my current activities and my philanthropic initiatives," said M Kalanick, 43, in a press release.

In March 2018, Mr. Kalanick announced the creation of an investment fund to finance for-profit and non-profit projects.

Called "10100" ("ten-one-hundred"), this fund aims to invest in the real estate sectors, online commerce and in innovative projects in China and India.

Non-profit projects are also supported by this fund, in the fields of education and the future of cities.

Among his latest initiatives, Mr. Kalanick notably launched CloudKitchens, a start-up specializing in the rental of spaces dedicated to the delivery of meals.

- Indentation -

Tuesday, Kalanick said he was "proud of all that Uber has accomplished." "I will continue to encourage his future from the sidelines," he said.

As a sign that the former boss wanted to distance himself from Uber, documents filed with the American stock market policeman showed that he had sold, since the beginning of November, a large part of his shares in the company.

The total value of Mr. Kalanick's shares in the company is not known, but according to the most recent public documents, it could amount to $ 2.5 billion.

Uber did not specify who would replace Mr. Kalanick on the board of directors, of which he was chairman. "We will have solid candidates to propose at the right time," contented himself with indicating a spokesperson for the company.

Dara Khosrowsahi, who took the reins of Uber in 2017, said "extremely grateful for the vision and tenacity shown by Travis to build Uber and for his expertise as a member of the board of directors."

- Setbacks on Wall Street -

It was in December 2008, on a snowy evening in Paris and when they couldn't find a taxi, that Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp had had the idea of ​​an application putting drivers and customers in touch.

In July 2010, UberCab - shortened to Uber in October - put its first passenger in contact with a driver in San Francisco, before launching in Paris the following year, then in the rest of the world.

Tuesday, Ron Sugar, independent chairman of the board, thanked Travis Kalanick "for his services as a director on the board", highlighting his "unique expertise" that has transformed the Uber startup into a global business .

The Uber platform had 101 million monthly active users (+ 26%) in the third quarter of 2019 and performed 1.77 billion trips over the July-September period, 31% more than a year ago.

But it is struggling to convince the market that it can achieve profitability since its chaotic IPO in early May.

In the third quarter, it posted a deficit of 1.20 billion.

The company's share has lost almost 50% since its first steps on Wall Street. Tuesday, however, it increased by 1.4% after the announcement of the departure of the board of directors of Travis Kalanick.

© 2019 AFP