Uber has hired recruiting giant Heidrick & Struggles to find a sidekick for embattled CEO Travis Kalanick

pulse

March 10, 2017 12:57 AM

Heidrick & Struggles placed Satya Nadella at Microsoft and Eric Schmidt at Google. Now Uber wants it to find their new COO.

Uber CEO Kalanick speaks to students during an interaction at IIT campus in Mumbai

Uber has tapped executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to lead its hunt for a new Chief Operating Officer, kicking off the ride-hailing company's effort to rehabilitate its bruised image after a string of controversies.

An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that hiring the headhunting firm on Thursday was just the first step towards finding a COO, but that the company doesn't have a final timeline for when it hopes to make a decision on the right candidate.

The COO will work alongisde Kalanick, the company's brash cofounder who has steered Uber to become the world's most valuable tech startup, but has also become a magnet for criticism.

Some observers expect Uber to find someone from the outside to provide a different perspective within the company and to act as a counterbalance to Kalanick.

The board will be involved in the search as well, Uber said.

A partner for the next chapter

is a well-known name in Silicon Valley when it comes to finding new leadership. In 2001, the firm helped Google bring in the "adult" help the company needed when it placed Eric Schmidt as CEO. More recently, Heidrick & Struggles helped with the search at Microsoft that lead to Satya Nadella being crowned CEO in 2014.

Now the firm will be working to hiring a COO for the $69 billion company after Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick, admitted he needed leadership help. A string of incidents over the last month has tarnished Uber's trust with its employees, investors, and customers.

Many industry insiders say the problems are a reflection of the aggressive, growth-at-all-costs culture that Kalanick has fostered at Uber, as it competes with rival Lyft and with the established taxi industry in a fiercely competitive market.

Kalanick has said he's looking "a peer who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey," but has said little else about the job responsibilities of the position.

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