Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick to split with board, stock

Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick said Tuesday he will leave the company's board on Dec. 31 and sell all his remaining stock.

Kalanick, who left the CEO post two years ago amid claims of an unhealthy work environment, had remained on Uber's board. According to the company's last public filing, his stake was worth about $2.5 billion.

"Uber has been a part of my life for the past 10 years," Kalanick said in a statement. "At the close of the decade, and with the company now public, it seems like the right moment for me to focus on my current business and philanthropic pursuits."

Uber investor Benchmark Capital Partners sued Kalanick last summer over fraud accusations. The firm accused Kalanick of breaching his fiduciary duty and contractual obligations by filling Uber's board with friends in a bid to return as CEO.

Uber went public on the New York Stock Exchange in May, but Kalanick didn't join other executives on Wall Street.

"Very few entrepreneurs have built something as profound as Travis Kalanick did with Uber," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement Tuesday. "I'm enormously grateful for Travis' vision and tenacity while building Uber, and for his expertise as a board member. Everyone at Uber wishes him all the best."

Kalanick formed Uber with entrepreneur Garrett Camp in 2009.